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Minced hedgehogs with rice in a frying pan with gravy

Porcupine Meatballs with Rice in Tomato Gravy

A quick, easy, and hearty dish for any weeknight table! What I love about this skillet porcupine meatball recipe is that it uses raw rice, mixed straight into the meat — no precooking, no fuss. And you can start with store-bought ground meat of whatever kind you like.

Julia M.

Recipe author

Minced hedgehogs with rice in a frying pan with gravy

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pork

300

Beef

300

Rice

100

Onion

Tomato paste

Water

300

Vegetable oil

Salt

Dried spices

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 36 % 10 g

Fats 32 % 9 g

Carbohydrates 32 % 9 g

152 kcal

GI: 25 / 75 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 45 min

Step 1:

How do you make skillet porcupine meatballs with rice? Start by gathering your ingredients. We'll use two kinds of meat here — pork and beef.
Step 2:

First, grind the meat. Cut the pork and beef into chunks and run them through a meat grinder. (Or just use store-bought ground pork and beef.)
Step 3:

Peel the onions and rinse them under cold water. Finely chop one onion and add it to the ground meat.
Step 4:

Rinse the rice several times in cold water, then add it to the bowl with the meat. Season with a little salt and spices to taste.
Step 5:

Mix everything together well until evenly combined. The mixture should be firm enough to roll into balls.
Step 6:

Pour a little vegetable oil into a skillet and heat it until hot. With wet hands, roll the meat mixture into balls and set them in the hot pan. Brown them on all sides.
Step 7:

Heat a second skillet separately. Finely chop the remaining onion and sauté it in a little vegetable oil for 2–3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook with the onion for another 1–2 minutes.
Step 8:

By the time the onion is done, the meatballs should be browned on all sides.
Step 9:

Add the meatballs to the skillet with the tomato-onion mixture. Pour in the water and bring everything to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20–25 minutes. In that time the rice softens and swells, with the grains poking out of the meatballs in every direction — that's what gives them their little "porcupine" look. Adjust the amount of water to suit how much gravy you'd like.
Step 10:

The porcupine meatballs are ready! Mashed potatoes make a perfect side.
Step 11:

Enjoy!

You can swap the beef for any other meat you prefer, but keep in mind that the cooking time, flavor, and calorie count will change. Pork and lamb are usually fattier than beef, while chicken or turkey are leaner. Cooking time also depends on the cut and on how young or old the meat is.
Here's an easy way to tell whether the oil in your skillet is hot enough: dip in a wooden spoon or spatula. If little bubbles gather around it, you're ready to start frying.