# Porcupine meatballs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 13, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854 "2005-11-13T16:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/1 "2005-11-13T16:16:39Z")
1 lb. ground beef 1 egg 1 box Rice-A-Roni Salt & pepper Flour Mix the Rice-A-Roni, egg, salt & pepper, and ground beef. Shape into meatballs and brown in a skillet. Mix Ric-A-Roni sauce mix with 2½ cups water. Add to meatballs when they’re cooked. Simmer 20 minutes. Add a little flour to thicken the gravy. Does anyone else eat this? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/2 "2005-11-13T17:19:43Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Does anyone else eat this? Well, not with that particular recipe. I always made mine with rice, not rice-a-roni. I suspect a few other ingredients would be different in my recipe too. After all, you left out the vegemite!!! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/3 "2005-11-13T18:09:16Z")
I was in the SCA - society for creative anachronism - for many many years. A medieval sotletie is a presentation dish where frequently foods are made to look like something else entirely [like sewing together parts of a chicken and a rabbit to look like a griffon] and one of the cute things to do is make ‘hedgehogs’ - meatballs formed into little hedgehogs where the spines are made with almond slivers. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/4 "2005-11-13T18:12:29Z")
The porcupine balls I make are made with regular rice, and simmered in tomato soup. My brother likes to put a cube of cheese in the middle of each ball too. Mmmm I think I know what I am having for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/5 "2005-11-13T18:13:53Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > After all, you left out the vegemite!!! How much Vegemite? ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/6 "2005-11-13T19:02:55Z")
My recipe goes: 1lb hamburger/ground pork (half and half) rice worcestershire sauce poultry seasoning salt & pepper Mix it all up, roll into balls. Pour a sauce of tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce and a little water over them and bake for about 45 minutes. Yum! Actually, I think I’ll make some tonight. Thanks for the idea! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/7 "2005-11-13T19:06:26Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > How much Vegemite? A tablespoon. Or a dollop. Whatever feels right. ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/8 "2005-11-13T20:51:02Z")
> [@Ludy](#): > > The porcupine balls I make are made with regular rice, and simmered in tomato soup. My brother likes to put a cube of cheese in the middle of each ball too. This sounds like my recipe (I got it from Mom, who probably got it off a soup can or rice box or something). The additional “cube of cheese in the middle of each ball” is pure genius! I’ll have to try that the next time I make 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/9 "2005-11-13T20:52:08Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > 1 lb. ground beef > 1 egg > 1 box Rice-A-Roni > Salt & pepper > Flour > > Mix the Rice-A-Roni, egg, salt & pepper, and ground beef. Shape into meatballs and brown in a skillet. Mix Ric-A-Roni sauce mix with 2½ cups water. Add to meatballs when they’re cooked. Simmer 20 minutes. Add a little flour to thicken the gravy. > > Does anyone else eat this? What flavor Rice-a-roni? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/10 "2005-11-13T21:21:59Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > What flavor Rice-a-roni? Hedgehog flavored, of course! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/11 "2005-11-13T22:42:26Z")
For an oriental take, try [Pearl Balls](http://www.cooking.com/recipes/static/recipe2557.htm). (This is just one variant of the recipe. I must have nearly a dozen different versions around here. You can use pretty much any ground meat you want, including pork, chicken, or beef.) My mother made Porcupine Meatballs when I was growing up. A decade or so after I left home, I asked her if she still had the recipe, but she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. I do remember that her version was mainly just seasoned ground beef, and that it used instant rice. [SIZE=1]P.S. The Google ad I got with this thread: > [@](#): > > [SIZE=2]Rice Power No.11 > ライスパワーエキス配合のスキンケア お試しキャンペーン実施中 1890円! Why Japanese for hedgehogs!!! 😕 [/SIZE] [/SIZE] ---
**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/12 "2005-11-14T17:14:37Z")
I’ve never heard of porcupine meatballs. And to think I thought this thread would contain a recipe that would make porcupine more palatable. (Though I did wonder where one would obtain the meat!) ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-meatballs/330854/13 "2005-11-14T17:20:52Z")
We ate porcupine meatballs in Maine. Common appetizer/party food. We used plain white rice, though, and simmered them in tomato soup with some cabbage thrown in.