Dutch Oven Porcupine Meatballs
A cast-iron Dutch oven is the perfect cooking pot to prepare Porcupine Meatballs.
Ingredients
- 1 pound or 500 grams of ground beef
- 1/2 cup basmati rice
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium or 1/4 cup finely diced onion
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt iodized
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 2 beef stock cube or 3 teaspoons of powdered beef stock
- 2 to 3 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil for frying
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 can tomato soup
- 3/ cups of water
Instructions
- In a glass or stainless steel, bowl combine ground beef, rice, egg, 1/2 the diced onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and 1 stock cube or 2 tsp of stock powder.
- When fully combined use a tablespoon and form your meatballs. You should make around 20-22 balls - make sure they are around the same size for even cooking.
- Add oil to the Dutch oven and set the heat setting to low.
- Add meatballs to brown them off. Leaving enough room to be able to turn them around - remove when browned. You will probably have to do them in 3/4 batches.
- When complete in the Dutch oven add tomato soup, 3/4 cup of water, 1 stock cube or tsp of stock powder, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. Stir while the sauce heats through.
- Return the meatballs to the Dutch oven and gently spoon sauce over the balls. When the Dutch oven reaches a simmer cover then cook for 35 minutes.
- To avoid sticking and burning to the bottom of the Dutch oven ensure the heat is not too high or place the Dutch oven on a trivet over the heat.
- You can also stir 1-2 times during cooking to avoid sticking.
Notes
Oven Method: A Hands-Off Way to Make Porcupine Meatballs
If your stovetop is already crowded with sides, or you simply prefer the steady, even warmth of the oven, this Dutch oven recipe adapts beautifully. The meatballs still get their color the traditional way, but from there, the oven takes over leaving you free to set the table instead of standing guard over a simmering pot.
Start just as you would on the stovetop: brown your meatballs in the Dutch oven over low heat, in batches if needed, until they've picked up a little golden color on the outside. Set them aside, then stir your tomato soup, water, stock, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar right into the pot, letting it warm through for a minute or two.
Nestle the meatballs back in, spoon a little sauce over the top of each one, then cover the Dutch oven and slide it into a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven. Let it bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling gently at the edges and the rice inside the meatballs has softened all the way through.
The beauty of this method is that the heat surrounds the pot rather than rising from underneath, so there's no risk of the sauce catching on the bottom, and no need to hover or stir. Just let the oven do its quiet work while you get everything else ready sides, table, family gathering around. Sometimes the best part of a one-pot meal is how little it actually asks of you.