Porcupine Meatballs
The retro recipe you'll want to add to dinnertime rotation
Sometimes a hearty throwback dish fits the bill perfectly at mealtime. If you’ve never made porcupine meatballs before, you are in for a treat. The kitchy name comes from the appearance of the meatballs once they come out of the oven. After cooking, the rice pokes out of the meatballs and they look all prickly like a porcupine. This is one of those handy meals where your protein, vegetables and grain are all cooked together, making it perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
This recipe is fun because you form the meatballs with raw, uncooked white rice. While in the oven, the rice absorbs the excess liquid in the dish and cooks to perfection. Everything comes together in one pan, and you will want a baking dish or casserole pan with about a 3 quart capacity. Once again, I used my Le Creuset Braiser for this dish. I can’t live without this pan and use it at least once a week in my kitchen. I also like that this braiser comes with an oven-safe lid. If your dish doesn’t have a lid, you could also cover tightly with foil to bake.
The original recipe that my mom made growing up calls for a drained can of sliced black olives to be added to the meatballs. My husband has very few dislikes when it comes to food, but olives just happens to be one of them. I had the same size can of chopped green chiles in the pantry, so I thought i’d give it a swap. I have to say, I might like this twist even more than the original! But, if you want to make it with a small can of sliced black olives, it’s also a great option.
Porcupine Meatballs
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs (from about 1 ½ to 2 slices of white bread)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 (15 ounce) can petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
Heat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Stir in rice, green chiles, breadcrumbs, salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
Crumble ground beef into the rice mixture. Sir or use your hands to combine the ingredients. Form the beef mixture into 8 large equal sized meatballs and place in a 3 quart baking dish. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together tomatoes, beef broth, cornstarch, and marjoram. Bring to a boil and stir for one minute. Remove from the heat and pour the tomato mixture over the meatballs in the baking dish. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours.