PORCUPINE BALLS

porcupine balls image

This is truly an old family recipe, created no doubt to stretch the meat.It ended up being a favorite kitchen memory for me.

Provided by joeyjoan K @chachi

Categories Beef

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

1 pound(s) ground beef
1/2 cup(s) cooked rice (almost cooked)
1 large egg
1/4 cup(s) dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoon(s) worcestershire sauce
- splash of milk if needed
- salt,pepper,rosemary,basil,garlic powder

Steps:

Take off your rings and put them in a safe place so you are sure not to lose them
cook the rice, if you cook it to well done or with to much water your rice will be to soft,you want the rice to just be done and firm, cook with a little less water to help keep rice from getting to done.( my mom tried to make this with out cooking the rice.We are still laughing about that one)
In a large bowl add your meat, rice, egg and worcestershire sauce, add your spices,mix together,by hand is best
add the bread crumbs a little at a time, just use enough to help stiffen the mixture don't dry out the mixture.
form meat and rice into small balls
if I am making to freeze I bake them 350 about 30 mins, don't over cook them as you will be cooking them again when you want them.
If I am making them for that nights dinner I pan brown them first and then put them in the oven with what ever gravy I have made using the pan drippings as my base. Be real gentle handling the balls during the pan browning,they are fragile and fall apart easily until they are browned all around. To help with this I cover the pan for the first few mins,you still need to be careful but it helps.
That is a Porcupine ball, what you do with them at this point is up to you. The possiblities are endless. We almost always served them over egg noodles with a gravy of some kind, like Brown,burgundy,or mushroom.Also they make a great finger food,make them nice and small insert sturdy tooth picks and serve in a warming dish with a dipping sauce.
Replace your rings and happy eating.