Go Back
Porcupine Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Melissa Hart

Porcupine Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

The rice that pokes from these meatballs gave them the porcupine name and made a pound of beef feed more people. Use long-grain white rice and enough covered simmering time for it to soften. The name is goofy; the one-pan dinner is solid.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 lbs 85-percent lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
  • 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes 28 oz
  • 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Method
 

  1. Mix the beef, rice, onion, egg, salt, garlic powder and pepper just until combined and shape into 18 meatballs.
  2. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat and brown the meatballs in 2 batches for 5 minutes per batch.
  3. Stir the crushed tomatoes, broth and Worcestershire together in the skillet and return all the meatballs.
  4. Cover and simmer over low heat for 35 minutes, turning the meatballs once, until the rice is tender and the centers reach 160°F.
  5. Uncover and simmer for 5 minutes if the sauce is thinner than a spoonable gravy.