Easy and Delicious Porcupine Meatballs Recipe

Porcupine meatballs are a classic dish that originated during the Great Depression, offering a simple yet delicious meal. The rice that sticks out while cooking gives them their unique name. This version comes with a few tweaks to make them even more flavorful, and it’s so easy to make. Here’s how you can prepare them:

Ingredients:

  • 500g beef mince
  • 1/3 cup soft white breadcrumbs
  • 1/3 cup short grain rice (higher starch content for a creamy sauce)
  • 1 medium grated onion
  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 420g can tomato soup
  • 1 can of water (from the tomato soup)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 small bay leaves (or 1 large)
  • 2 small pieces of lemon peel (avoid the white pith)

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl, combine the beef mince, breadcrumbs, rice, grated onion, parsley, salt, pepper, and egg. Mix thoroughly with your hands.
  2. Grease a casserole dish with butter and shape the mixture into meatballs, about the size of a large walnut. Place the meatballs side by side in the dish.
  3. For the sauce, in the same bowl, combine the tomato soup, water, salt, pepper, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, and lemon peel. Whisk together and pour over the meatballs.
  4. Cover the casserole tightly with foil and bake at 160°C fan or 180°C non-fan for 1.5 hours.
  5. After baking, remove the foil and coat the meatballs with the sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with sugar if necessary (especially if the lemon peel was bitter).
  6. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C fan or 220°C non-fan. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes to brown the meatballs and thicken the sauce.
  7. Flip the meatballs and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
  8. Remove from the oven, spoon the sauce over the meatballs, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

These meatballs are great served with mashed potatoes, vegetables, or in a meatball sub. I served mine over buttered pasta, and they were delicious! Enjoy this easy and comforting dish.