I.C. Fennel Cordial
Infusing flavors into a spirit at room temperature can take weeks, which means you have to wait quite a while to discover whether you got it right. Because we can maintain the perfect extraction temperature, an immersion circulator can shorten weeks to just 1 hour. Try out this mouthwatering miracle with my fennel cordial, an herbal tipple that tastes kind of like licorice. This recipe first appeared in Season 1 of Good Eats: The Return.
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 1 quart
Software
- 1 quart vodka
- 2 cups fennel fronds, loosely packed
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
- 10 green cardamom pods
- 1 whole star anise
Specialized Hardware
- Immersion circulator
- one-gallon zip-top freezer bag
- coffee filter
- Fine-mesh sieve
Procedure
- Install an immersion circulator in a water bath and set it to 140ºF.
- Place the vodka, fennel fronds, sugar, fennel seeds, cardamom seeds, green cardamom pods, and star anise in a one-gallon zip-top freezer bag (see Cook's Note). Remove as much of the air from the bag as possible then seal and submerge the bag in the bath for 1 hour (see Cook's Note).
- Transfer the unopened bag to an ice water bath. Once cool, strain the mixture through a coffee filter set inside a sieve and discard the solids. Don't squeeze or press the solids to extract additional liquid: It will cloud the liqueur and release off flavors.
- Chill before serving.