Pigs in Blankets - Roasted - Flickr - Stevie-B

Pigs in blankets or kilted soldiers is a dish served in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

consisting of small sausages (usually

chipolata A chipolata () is a type of fresh sausage, likely created in France. Sausages by that name appear in the 1903 edition of Escoffier's . Chipolatas are often prepared as a relatively thin and short sausage. Chipolatas are typically made from coars ...

s) wrapped in

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

. They are a popular and traditional accompaniment to roast

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

in a

Christmas dinner Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of ...

and are served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

consisting of small sausages (usually

s) wrapped in

. The first recipes appeared in 1957, and the dish was popularized in the 1990s by

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. One of the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers t ...

, who included a recipe in a

cook book A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cou ...

. The first commercially produced versions appeared around the same time. In general it is a seasonal item, seldom offered commercially outside the Christmas season, and it has spawned food-industry offshoot products such as pigs-in-blankets flavoured mayonnaise, peanuts, chips, vaping liquid, and chocolates as well as versions of Christmas-associated consumer items such as pajamas made with a pigs-in-blankets print.

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

in 2019 reported that a majority of shoppers they surveyed planned to serve the dish at Christmas dinner and that more planned to serve pigs in blankets than any other side dish, including

Yorkshire pudding Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common British side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying compone ...

, another traditional Christmas dish.

Ingredients, preparation, and serving

Traditionally the sausage used is a cocktail-sized pork-based chipolata and the wrapping a

streaky bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato san ...

, but variations include those using

chorizo Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

or chicken sausage, using sausages with added ingredients such as apples or chestnuts, using full-sized chipolatas, or using flavored or smoked bacon. Commercially available varieties may have around 325 calories and 22 g of fat per 100 g serving. The wrapped sausages may be pan-fried, baked, or a combination. They are a popular and traditional accompaniment to roast

in a

and are served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal. They may also be served on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

Importance

According to ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

'' and ''

Yahoo News Yahoo! News is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo!. The site was created by a Yahoo! software engineer named Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such as the Associate ...

'', they are considered a staple of the Christmas season. One online butcher promotes a National Pigs in Blankets Day each December since 2013.

Similar dishes

In Denmark, there is a bacon-wrapped sausage served in a bun known as the '' Pølse i svøb'', which means "sausage in blanket", usually sold at hot dog stands known as ''

pølsevogn ''Pølsevogn(e)'' () are hot dog stands that sell Danish-style hot dogs, such as rød pølse, and sausages as street food. Today, some are mobile, and some are, despite their names, permanent structures. They are equipped with a small kitchen, ...

e'' (sausage-wagons). In Austria and Germany, a sausage filled with cheese and wrapped in bacon is known as or Bernese sausages. In Luxembourg, is a scalded sausage filled with cheese and wrapped in bacon.

Similarly named dishes

The American dish

pigs in a blanket Pigs in a blanket is a small hot dog or other sausage wrapped in pastry commonly served as an appetizer in the United States. The similarity in name with that of the UK dish pigs in blankets, which is a sausage wrapped in bacon, sometimes caus ...

is sometimes confused with this dish, but their only similarity is the name and the fact the foundation ingredient is a wrapped sausage; the US dish wraps sausage in bread or pastry. In some parts of the US heavily influenced by Polish immigration, "pigs in a blanket" may refer to stuffed cabbage rolls, such as the Polish

gołąbki Gołąbki is the Polish name of a dish popular in cuisines of Central Europe, made from boiled cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of minced pork or beef, chopped onions, and rice or barley. Gołąbki are often served during the Christmas ...

References

{{Sausage British cuisine Christmas food Sausage dishes Stuffed dishes Bacon dishes Irish cuisine

Ingredients, preparation, and serving

Importance

Similar dishes

Similarly named dishes

See also

References