recipe
Wild rabbit braise with Amaro Montenegro, juniper berries and fennel seeds
There was a time when going to Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market meant rushing past flat wagons heaped with piles of newly dispatched soft, grey-brown carcasses.
Back then it was an ordinary part of the scene, and of common cookery, but now sourcing wild rabbit seems more like a luxury process. This single-pot rabbit braise is worth the investment, however, and the preparation time is minimal.
Wild rabbit is sweeter, richer and gamier than the farmed variety, but the trade-off is a longer braise time to yield tenderness. It’s also an excellent source of iron and very lean. When braising, I usually add some other source of fatty meat, such as bacon or guanciale.
Marrying sweet wild rabbit with Amaro Montenegro is a recent discovery of mine. I often use Marsala, which is sweeter, or sometimes white or red wine, but the Montenegro is more complex, with a slightly bittersweet profile. Notes of orange and vanilla, black tea and spice with woody herbs are really superb with the rabbit.
The end result is all about the brothy sauce and just-falling-off-the-bone meat.
You could pick all the meat after braising, toss it through with pasta and finish with good Parmigiano Reggiano. That would be divine also.
Time: 1 hour preparation + 2.5 hours cooking
Serves 4
- 80ml virgin olive oil
- 150g butter
- 1 rabbit about 1.4kg, cut into 7 pieces
- 1 brown onion, cut into thirds
- 1 large carrot, cut lengthways in half
- 8 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 celery heart, split in half
- 120g of bacon side butt end, left
- as 2 large pieces
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 4 sprigs sage
- 6 juniper berries
- zest of 1/2 orange, peeled in long strips
- 300ml of Amaro Montenegro
- 50ml sherry vinegar
- 1.2 litres of chicken stock, just barely to cover
- In a heavy-based large pot add the olive oil and butter and brown the rabbit pieces and bacon very carefully. Develop great colour over a medium-high heat, but don’t rush this stage and season with flaked salt and pepper as you go.
- Set the rabbit to one side. Add to the pan juices the onion, carrot, garlic and celery and cook over medium heat to colour slightly. Add the browned rabbit back along with the fennel seeds, bay, thyme, sage, juniper berries and the orange rind.
- Preheat your oven to 160ºC.
- Add the Amaro Montenegro and vinegar, bring to simmer, and then add the stock and return to a simmer before putting a lid on the pot to cook for two to two-and-a-half hours in the oven. Cook until the rabbit is very tender and the juices have reduced. Simmer on the stove for 10-15 minutes to thicken the sauce if this didn’t happen in the oven.
- Taste for seasoning. The rabbit should be tender and the stew should be saucy.
- Serve with mashed potato or tiny cooked fregola or orzo pasta, and the vegetables that were braised with the rabbit.
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on August 30, 2025 as "Braise of glory".
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