Pigs In A Blanket
Ingredients
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- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 16 Tbsp unsalted butter – cut into 0.5-inch cubes and chilled
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup ice water
- 24 pieces cocktail sausages
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp water
- Dijon mustard – for serving
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and fine sea salt.
2. Add the chilled unsalted butter and toss to coat. Using your fingertips, flatten the cubes into rough flakes, leaving visible pieces throughout.
3. Stir the lemon juice into the ice water. Drizzle the liquid over the flour-butter mixture, tossing with a fork until the dough is shaggy and just holds together when pressed.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, gently press into a 6x10-inch rectangle, wrap, and chill for 20 minutes to relax and firm.
5. Roll the dough into a 8x16-inch rectangle. Fold like a letter (fold the top third down and the bottom third up). Rotate 90 degrees, re-roll to 8x16 inches, and repeat the letter fold. Chill 15 minutes.
6. Do one more roll to 8x16 inches and letter fold, then chill the dough 20 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment, and pat the cocktail sausages dry with paper towels so the pastry adheres.
8. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 12x16 inches, 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges to square, then cut into 24 rectangles, each about 2x4 inches.
9. Place one cocktail sausage along the short edge of each rectangle and roll up snugly, ending seam-side down on the prepared sheets with space between pieces.
10. Beat the egg with the 1 tbsp water to make an egg wash. Brush the tops and sides of the wrapped sausages.
11. Bake until puffed and deep golden, 15–20 minutes, rotating pans once; the pastry should be crisp and the sausages sizzling.
12. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then serve warm with Dijon mustard (for serving).
Pigs in a blanket are bite-size sausages wrapped in tender, buttery pastry and baked until the outside is crisp and flaky while the inside stays juicy and savory. The contrast of smoky sausage and rich pastry is comforting and crowd-pleasing, making these easy to pass around at parties. They’re delicious warm from the oven and pair naturally with tangy mustard for dipping.
The concept of encasing sausage in dough traces to European baking traditions, but the American cocktail-party version rose to prominence in the mid-20th century. In the United States, “pigs in a blanket” commonly means small smoked or cocktail sausages wrapped in pastry. In the United Kingdom, by contrast, the phrase usually refers to sausages wrapped in bacon and served with a roast dinner, showing how the idea evolved regionally while keeping the core appeal of meat wrapped in something indulgent.