P
Italian · Marche
Coniglio in Porchetta — Rabbit Stuffed with Wild Fennel and Herbs
Coniglio in porchetta is the Marchigiani preparation of rabbit cooked 'in the style of porchetta' — boned and stuffed with the classic porchetta filling of wild fennel fronds, garlic, rosemary, liver, and abundant black pepper, then rolled, tied, and either roasted in the oven or braised in white wine. The wild fennel of the Marche hills (finocchio selvatico) is the defining flavour — its anise fragrance perfumes the rabbit meat during the long cooking. The preparation is found throughout central Italy (Lazio, Umbria, and Marche all claim it) but the Marchigiani version uses rabbit and emphasises the wild fennel over other aromatics.
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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)
rabbit
fully boned by the butcher, liver reserved
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the stuffing
40 g
wild fennel fronds (finocchio selvatico)
fresh; or dried wild fennel seeds out of season
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3 cloves
garlic
thinly sliced
Your own market
2 sprigs
rosemary
leaves stripped
Your own market
1 (reserved from rabbit)
rabbit liver
finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
black pepper
coarsely ground
Your own market
2 tsp
fine sea salt
Your own market
For cooking
3 tbsp
extra-virgin olive oil
plus more for the interior
Your own market
150 ml
dry white wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
50 ml
water
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Lay the boned rabbit flat, skin side down, on the work surface. Season the interior with salt, black pepper, and a film of olive oil. The surface should glisten evenly.
2
Distribute the wild fennel fronds across the entire interior surface in a generous, even layer. Scatter the sliced garlic, rosemary leaves, and chopped liver over the fennel. The anise fragrance of the fennel should already be assertive; if it is not, add more — restraint here produces a flat result and this is where the dish lives or dies.
3
Roll the rabbit tightly from the long side, enclosing the filling completely. Tie at 3 cm intervals with kitchen string. The roll should feel firm and hold its shape without the filling shifting when pressed gently.
4
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based ovenproof pan or roasting dish over a medium-high flame. Brown the roll on all sides, turning with tongs. Each surface should be a deep, even golden colour before turning — approximately 3–4 minutes per side.
5
Pour the white wine and water into the roasting dish around (not over) the roll. Transfer to the oven and roast for 1 to 1.5 hours, basting every 20 minutes with the pan juices. The exterior should be consistently golden and the juices running from the centre of the roll, when tested with a skewer, should run clear with no trace of pink.
6
Remove the roll from the oven and rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes before removing the string and slicing. The roll should feel firm and hold its spiral cleanly when cut — each slice revealing the filling in an unbroken band against the pale rabbit meat.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — A wild rabbit from the Marche hills, hunted in autumn; fresh finocchio selvatico gathered from roadside verges in summer; liver from the same animal.
02
Estate — A free-range farm rabbit with full liver; fresh wild fennel fronds sourced from an Italian grocer or specialist herb supplier; a single-estate dry Verdicchio for the braising liquid.
03
Market — A good quality farmed rabbit, butcher-boned; cultivated fennel fronds supplemented with dried wild fennel seeds; any dry, unoaked white wine.
04
House — Farmed rabbit boned at home with care; dried wild fennel seeds alone; a neutral dry white wine; the result is presentable if the rolling and resting discipline is maintained.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. The wild fennel fragrance is dominant and clean before rolling — assertive anise, not faint or background.
◇Touch. The tied roll feels firm along its entire length with no soft or hollow sections indicating a gap in the filling.
◇Sight. The exterior is an even deep gold on all sides after browning; the pan juices run clear at the centre after roasting.
◇Sight. Each slice after resting holds a clean spiral of filling without the stuffing falling away from the meat.
◇Where it lives or dies. The wild fennel must be spread in generous abundance across the interior — insufficient finocchio selvatico reduces the preparation to plain stuffed rabbit and erases the defining character of the Marchigiani dish.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Fortified wine
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