P
Italian · Marche
Coniglio in Porchetta Marchigiano
Marche's rabbit prepared in the porchetta style — a whole rabbit deboned and stuffed with the same aromatic filling used for porchetta (wild fennel fronds, garlic, rosemary, black pepper, salt, and liver from the animal), then rolled tightly, tied, and roasted in the wood oven until the skin crisps and crackles. The rolling concentrates the aromatics inside the rabbit roll, so every slice contains a spiral of the fennel-herb stuffing. The technique transforms a small, lean animal into a self-basting, aromatic roast.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1 (approx. 1.5 kg)
whole rabbit
deboned by the butcher, skin kept entirely intact, liver reserved
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the stuffing
1 (reserved)
rabbit liver
trimmed and roughly chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
wild fennel fronds
fresh, not dried; fennel seed is not a substitute
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3 cloves
garlic
peeled and finely sliced
Your own market
2 sprigs
fresh rosemary
leaves stripped and roughly chopped
Your own market
1 tsp
black pepper
coarsely ground
Your own market
1 tsp
fine sea salt
plus more for the exterior
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Lay the deboned rabbit flat, skin-side down, on a clean work surface. Inspect the skin for any tears; a continuous, intact skin is the natural casing. Season the interior flesh evenly with salt and coarsely ground black pepper.
2
Combine the chopped rabbit liver, wild fennel fronds, sliced garlic, and chopped rosemary in a bowl. Season with salt and black pepper and mix until the liver begins to bind the aromatics into a cohesive paste. The mixture should hold together loosely when pressed.
3
Spread the stuffing in an even layer across the interior of the flattened rabbit, leaving a 2 cm border at the edges. Roll the rabbit tightly from one long side to the other so that the stuffing forms a continuous spiral through the cross-section. This is where the dish lives or dies: the roll must be so tight that no gap exists between the layers — a loose roll will open in the oven, losing both the spiral and the self-basting effect that makes the lean meat succulent.
4
Truss the roll at 3 cm intervals with kitchen twine, tying each loop firmly so the cylinder holds its shape under the heat. The roll should feel rigid and uniform along its length — no soft spots that indicate loose pockets of air.
5
Place the trussed roll in a roasting tin and transfer to an oven preheated to 220°C. Roast at this temperature until the skin is golden and blistered and emits a sharp crackling sound when tapped with a spoon — approximately 20 minutes.
6
Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and continue roasting until the interior is cooked through — approximately a further 30–35 minutes. The skin must be a deep, uniform amber-brown and completely crisp to the touch along its full length.
7
Remove the roll from the oven and rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes before removing the twine and slicing. Premature slicing releases all accumulated moisture; the roll is ready when the juices no longer run freely on cutting.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — A young wild rabbit, shot in season, deboned in-house with the skin intact; wild fennel gathered from uncultivated ground at the fronds' most aromatic, pre-flowering stage.
02
Estate — A free-range farmed rabbit of known provenance, deboned by a trusted butcher to specification; wild fennel sourced from a specialist supplier or farmers' market.
03
Market — A standard farmed rabbit purchased whole and deboned to order by the butcher; fresh cultivated fennel tops used in the absence of wild fennel — the flavour will be milder and less grassy.
04
House — A farmed rabbit purchased pre-portioned, reassembled as far as possible and tied without a complete skin casing; fennel fronds substituted by cultivated fennel tops. The crackling skin is absent and the self-basting effect diminished.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The trussed roll feels rigid and uniformly firm along its length, with no soft pockets indicating loose internal air gaps.
◇Sound. At 220°C the skin emits a sharp crackling when tapped with a spoon, signalling that sufficient surface moisture has been driven off.
◇Sight. After the temperature reduction, the skin is a deep, uniform amber-brown along its full circumference.
◇Sight. After resting 15 minutes, slicing produces a clean cross-section showing a continuous spiral of fennel-herb stuffing with juices that no longer run freely.
◇Where it lives or dies. The roll must be wound tight enough that no gap exists between the layers — a loose roll opens in the oven and loses both its spiral of stuffing and the self-basting effect that keeps lean rabbit meat succulent.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Agave spirit
From British Columbia
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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