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It’s no secret that I love Christmas and for me one of the big parts of Christmas is the food. It’s the one time of year you can eat all day without anyone questioning it. Plus, you can have all your favourite things on one very full dinner plate!
What are your favourite Christmas food traditions?
We start buying mince pies as soon as they appear in the shops and in the run up to Christmas we buy everything that’s on offer – a big box of chocolates, nibbles and the obligatory Chocolate Orange.
But when it comes to Christmas it just wouldn’t be the same without turkey and all the trimmings. In our house that means roast potatoes and parsnips, lots of different steamed veg, sprouts, red cabbage, stuffing, yorkshire puddings, really thick gravy and not forgetting the pigs in blankets.
For me, the one thing we save just for Christmas is pigs in blankets – they are the ultimate comfort food and my favourite sausage recipes. We don’t have them any other time of the year and it makes having them at Christmas just that little bit more special.For me, the one thing we save just for Christmas is pigs in blankets.
We don’t have them any other time of the year and it makes having them at Christmas just that little bit more special. We enjoy them throughout the festive period, having them at any party or social gathering, as a buffet snack or side dish.
They really one of our favourite British traditions – you cannot beat the taste of these little bacon wrapped sausages. They may not be that healthy but they’re quick and delicious!
What sausages should we use for pigs in blankets?
We use pretty standard pork co*cktail sausages for this recipe but you could use chicken or beef sausages or even vegetarian sausages and a bacon alternative for a meat free option. Plus, you can cook pigs in blankets in the air fryer too.
We also love Honey and Mustard Pigs in Blankets and Caramelised Onion Pigs in Blankets if you’d like to try those recipes too. You can see our other pigs in blanket recipe variations hereand all our other Christmas recipes too!
Here’s our easy Maple Glazed Pigs in Blankets Recipe
Preheat oven to 180C and line an oven dish or deep baking tray with foil
Cut each rasher of streaky bacon in half and wrap around a sausage, securing with a co*cktail stick. Repeat, placing them in the oven dish.
Bake the pigs in blankets for 20 minutes before pouring away the excess fat from the dish. Drizzle the sausages with the maple syrup and place back in the oven to continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes until the sausages are nicely golden browned.
Remove the sausages from the dish, giving them one last coat in the sweet sticky maple syrup sauce.
So that is our Christmas tradition. Lovely, sticky pigs in blankets. They will be served on Christmas day alongside the honey roast parsnips and eaten surrounded by family. For me Christmas dinner is my favourite meal of the year.
If you’d like to print or pin the Maple Glazed Pigs in Blankets Recipe for later you can do so below. Enjoy!
For me, the one thing we save just for Christmas is pigs in blankets. We don’t have them any other time of the year and it makes having them at Christmas just that little bit more special.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine British
Keyword christmas
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Total Time 55 minutesminutes
Servings 18sausages
Calories 90kcal
Ingredients
18co*cktail Sausages
9Smoked Streaky Bacon Rashers
150mlMaple Syrup
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C and line an oven dish with foil
Cut each rasher of streaky bacon in half and wrap around a sausage, securing with a co*cktail stick. Repeat, placing them in the oven dish.
Bake the pigs in blankets for 20 minutes before pouring away the excess fat from the dish. Drizzle the sausages with the maple syrup and place back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the sausages are nicely browned.
Remove the sausages from the dish, giving them one last coat in the maple syrup.
*Note: Nutritional information is estimated, based on publicly available data. Nutrient values may vary from those published.
Some people credit the chef Delia Smith for the boost in popularity pigs in blankets received in the 1990s after she included them in a Christmas recipe book. It was around then that supermarkets began to sell them pre-made.
Pigs in blankets, kilted sausages or kilted soldiers is a dish served in the United Kingdom and Ireland consisting of small sausages (usually chipolatas) wrapped in bacon. They are a popular and traditional accompaniment to roast turkey in a Christmas dinner and are served as a side dish.
Over 128 million pigs in blankets are eaten on Christmas Day alone. Pigs in blankets are thought to have originated from Czechoslovakia or Germany but first appeared in print in the Cooking for Kids cookbook, published by U.S food firm Betty Crocker in 1957.
After Christmas dinner, a family member deposits the pig into a small sack. Using a small, metal mallet, each person at the table gives the pink porker a thwack, and shares a story of their good fortune from the past year.
It's generally believed that pigs in blankets were popularised in the 1990s, when Delia Smith included a recipe in her Christmas cookbook. These salty morsels are generally considered a Christmas item, owing to its moreish and indulgent qualities, and are widely accepted as one of the UK's favourite festive trimmings.
In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, "pigs in blankets" refers to small sausages (usually chipolatas) wrapped in bacon. They are a popular accompaniment to roast turkey in a Christmas dinner.
In the United Kingdom, “pigs in blankets” refers to small sausages (usually chipolatas) wrapped in bacon though in Scotland they are often called kilted soldiers. They are a traditional accompaniment to roast turkey in a Christmas dinner.
In the United States the term "pigs in a blanket" typically refers to hot dogs in croissant dough, but may include Vienna sausages, co*cktail or breakfast/link sausages baked inside biscuit dough or croissant dough.
Sometimes breakfast sausages wrapped in pancakes are also called pigs in a blanket. Other names for the food are franks in a blanket, franks in blanks, and wiener winks.
“Most East Texas bakeries have mistakenly named their 'pig in a blanket' as a kolache,” she said. Although I am not of Czech heritage, I still cringe at the inaccuracy each and every time I see a sign proclaiming “Donuts and Kolaches” in front of a business, only to discover that there are no kolaches to be found.
Why not add a bit of stuffing or cranberry sauce to go with it? Turkey is definitely the most traditional meat for Christmas dinner and you can take a look at our wide selection of whole, rolled and diced turkeys here – perfect for your traditional Christmas dinner!
In the United States the term "pigs in a blanket" typically refers to hot dogs in croissant dough, but may include Vienna sausages, co*cktail or breakfast/link sausages baked inside biscuit dough or croissant dough.
The tradition of eating ham is thought to have evolved from the Germanic pagan ritual of sacrificing a wild boar known as a sonargöltr to the Norse god Freyr during harvest festivals.
Donkeys are another animal that is often associated with Christmas. According to Christian teachings, donkeys were used by Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem for Jesus' birth, making them an important part of the nativity story.
A pig in a blanket is a sausage (originally a pork sausage, hence the “pig”) wrapped in either a pancake, biscuit dough, or a crescent-style piece of pastry (you guessed it, that's the “blanket”).
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Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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