In the United States, pigs in a blanket are small hot dogs or other sausages individually wrapped in pastry, commonly served as an appetizer.

Pigs in a blanket
TypeSausage wrapped in pastry
Coursehors d'oeuvre
Place of originUnited States
Main ingredientsCocktail sausage, hot dog, or other sausage, crescent rolls or other pastry
VariationsFilled with cheese

They are distinct from the British dish of pigs in blankets, where the sausages are instead wrapped in bacon.[1]

Ingredients and preparation

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In the United States the term "pigs in a blanket" typically refers to hot dogs in croissant dough, but may include Vienna sausages, cocktail or breakfast/link sausages baked inside biscuit dough or croissant dough. American cookbooks from the 1800s have recipes for "little pigs in blankets",[2] but this is a rather different dish of oysters rolled in bacon similar to angels on horseback. The modern version can be traced back to at least 1940, when a U.S. Army cookbook lists "Pork Sausage Links (Pigs) in Blankets".[3]

The dough is sometimes homemade, but canned dough is most common. Pancake dough is also sometimes used, although this combination is more commonly served like a corn dog and sold as a pancake on a stick. The larger variety is served as a quick and easy main course or a light meal (particularly for children) at lunch or supper while the smaller version is served as an appetizer. In Texas, kolaches or klobasneks are a similar dish which originates from Czech immigrants. The meat or savory part, often a sausage but not always, is wrapped in kolache dough and not croissant dough. This dish in Texas is most commonly referred to as "kolache", although traditional Czech-style kolaches are a sweet dish, not a savory dish.[4]

Serving

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A bowl of pigs in a blanket

Smaller versions of the dish are commonly served as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre, sometimes with a mustard or aioli dipping sauce, or are accompanied by other foods during the main course.[citation needed]

Similar dishes

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A sausage bun (cheung jai baau) from Hong Kong

The cuisines of a number of countries have similar dishes under a variety of names.

In Belgium, this is a traditional dish from the city of Namur, where it is called avisance. Historically it was a sausage or sausage meat in bread dough, replaced nowadays with puff pastry.[5]

In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, a hot dog wrapped in bread is called a fransk hot dog (lit.'french hot dog').[6] The name is a reference to the bread's similarity to a baguette. In Denmark and Norway, American-style pigs in a blanket are known as pølsehorn, meaning "sausage horns".

The German Würstchen im Schlafrock ("sausage in a dressing gown") uses sausages wrapped in puff pastry[7] or, more rarely, pancakes. Cheese and bacon are sometimes present.

In the Netherlands, Saucijzenbroodje [nl] is a puff pastry roll filled with seasoned minced meat.[8]

In the United Kingdom, pastry-wrapped sausage meat is known as a sausage roll.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lewis, Anna (30 January 2020). "This American Magazine Got Pigs In Blankets Confused With Sausage Rolls". Delish. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  2. ^ Strohm, Gertrude (1887). "The Universal Cookery Book: Practical Recipes for Household Use, by Gertrude Strohm". Google Books. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  3. ^ War Department Technical Manual, vol. 10 (412 ed.), 1940, retrieved 25 December 2021 – via Google Books
  4. ^ Johnston, Abby (September 2018). "If It's Not Sweet, It's Not a Kolache—It's a Klobasnek". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  5. ^ "recettes: Plat principal: Avisance de Namur". www.gastronomie-wallonne.be. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Franske Hotdogs ("French" Hot Dogs)". Skandibaking. 16 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022.
  7. ^ Würstchen im Schlafrock Archived 5 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 September 2008
  8. ^ "Saucijzenbroodjes". Meesterlijk van Robèrt (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 March 2024.
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