Name: Porcupine Meatballs (Raw Rice, Tomato Soup Sauce, Lid On for 45 Minutes)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4 servings (12 meatballs)
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef (450g), 80 to 85 percent lean; 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice (95g), not instant and not parboiled; 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped; 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon fine salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/4 cup water; One can of condensed tomato soup; 1 1/4 cups water; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning, optional; 2 pounds potatoes (900g), peeled and cut in chunks; 1/2 cup milk (120ml), warm; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; Salt and pepper

In this article

Why this porcupine meatballs works
Ingredients
How to make porcupine meatballs
Tips that make the difference
Variations
Storage and make-ahead
Frequently asked questions

Almost every American who grew up in the fifties, sixties or seventies ate porcupine meatballs at least once a month, and a good many of them ate them because of the name. A child who would not touch a meatball would eat one with quills. The quills are rice, uncooked when it goes into the meat, that cooks in the sauce and swells until it pokes out of the meatball all over. They sit on the plate looking exactly like their name.

The one rule that matters is that the rice goes in raw. Cooked rice just sits inside and gives you a plain meatball with soft lumps in it. Raw rice drinks the sauce as it cooks, grows to three times its size and works its way out through the meat. That takes time and steam, which is why the second rule is the lid. The skillet is covered, the heat is low, and the lid stays on. Lift it too often and the steam escapes, the sauce cooks down and the rice stays hard.

The sauce is a can of condensed tomato soup thinned with water. It is not fancy and it was never meant to be. It is what it was in most kitchens, and it is what makes them taste right. Over mashed potatoes, with the sauce spooned over everything.

Why this porcupine meatballs works

Uncooked long grain rice. Raw rice absorbs the tomato sauce as it simmers, swells and pushes out through the beef. That is the quills, and cooked rice cannot do it.
A little water in the meat. The quarter cup of water keeps the meatballs tender while the rice drinks up moisture from the inside.
One can of tomato soup, thinned. Condensed tomato soup thinned with water is thin enough to steam the rice and thick enough to cling to the meatballs by the end.
The lid, low, for 45 minutes. Steam under the lid is what cooks the rice all the way to the center of the meatball. Low heat keeps the bottom from scorching.

Ingredients

Makes 12 meatballs, enough for 4 with mashed potatoes. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.

For the meatballs

1 pound ground beef (450g), 80 to 85 percent lean
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice (95g), not instant and not parboiled
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup, 70g)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water (60ml)

For the sauce

One can of condensed tomato soup (10 3/4 ounces, 305g)
1 1/4 cups water (300ml)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning, optional

For serving

2 pounds potatoes (900g), peeled and cut in chunks
1/2 cup milk (120ml), warm
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (42g)
Salt and pepper

Plain long grain white rice is the right rice. Instant rice turns to mush and brown rice will not cook through in the time. Use a skillet or wide pot with a lid that fits.

How to make porcupine meatballs

The meatballs

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, the uncooked rice, the chopped onion, the egg, the salt, the pepper and the 1/4 cup of water. Mix with your hands just until evenly combined. The mixture will feel wetter than usual, and that is right.
Wet your hands and shape the mixture into 12 meatballs, each a little larger than a golf ball. Grains of rice will show on the outside.
In a 12 inch skillet or a wide pot with a lid, whisk the can of tomato soup with the 1 1/4 cups of water and the oregano, if using, until smooth. Bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
Lower the meatballs into the sauce in a single layer and spoon a little sauce over each one. Let the sauce come back to a simmer.

Raw porcupine meatballs studded with grains of uncooked rice sitting in thin tomato soup sauce in a skillet before the lid goes on

Put the lid on, turn the heat to low so the sauce barely bubbles, and cook for 45 minutes. Do not lift the lid at all for the first 30 minutes. The steam under it is cooking the rice. After 30 minutes, lift it once, spoon the sauce over the meatballs, turn them gently, and put the lid back on for the last 15 minutes.

At 45 minutes, cut one meatball in half. The rice should be tender and swollen, poking out of the meat, and the center should show no pink. If the rice is still firm, add a splash of water, cover and cook 10 minutes more.

The mashed potatoes

While the meatballs simmer, put the potatoes in a pot of cold salted water, bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, until a fork slides in easily. Drain well, return them to the hot pot and mash with the butter and warm milk. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the mashed potatoes onto 4 plates, set 3 meatballs on each, and spoon the tomato sauce over everything. Serve hot.

Cooked porcupine meatballs over mashed potatoes with swollen rice poking out like quills and thick tomato sauce spooned over

Tips that make the difference

Keep the heat truly low. A hard simmer cooks the sauce down before the rice is done and scorches the skillet.
Make the meatballs the same size so they finish together. A large ice cream scoop is a good measure.
If the sauce looks thick before the time is up, add water a quarter cup at a time. The rice needs liquid.
For a deeper flavor, brown the meatballs in a tablespoon of oil for 2 minutes a side before the sauce goes in. The old recipes did not bother.

Variations

With bell pepper. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper (40g) to the meat mixture, a common touch in Midwestern versions.
Baked porcupines. Set the meatballs in a 9 by 13 inch dish, pour the thinned soup over, cover tightly with foil and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
Tomato sauce instead of soup. Use one 15 ounce can of tomato sauce (425g) with 3/4 cup water (180ml) and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Slightly sharper.
Over buttered noodles or rice. Plenty of families served them over wide buttered noodles or plain white rice instead of mashed potatoes.

Storage and make-ahead

Porcupine meatballs keep in their sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4 days. Reheat gently in a covered skillet over low heat with a splash of water. They freeze well for up to 3 months, sauce and all.

The meatballs can be shaped a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Cook them straight from cold; they may need 5 extra minutes under the lid.

Frequently asked questions

Does the rice really go in uncooked?

Yes, completely raw. That is what makes them porcupines. The rice cooks in the steam and sauce under the lid, swells and pokes out of the meat. Cooked rice stays put inside and you lose the quills.

Why is my rice still hard after 45 minutes?

Either the lid came off too often, the heat was too high and the sauce cooked down, or the rice was a slower type. Add a splash of water, cover tightly and give it 10 to 15 minutes more on low.

Can I use instant or brown rice?

Instant rice turns to mush and disappears into the meat. Brown rice needs closer to 90 minutes and the meat overcooks waiting for it. Plain long grain white rice works.

What did people serve porcupine meatballs on?

Mashed potatoes in most houses, buttered noodles or plain rice in others, and a slice of soft white bread to mop the sauce almost everywhere.

Raw rice, one can of soup, the lid on low for 45 minutes and no peeking for the first 30. Put them over mashed potatoes and tell the children they have quills.

Recipe