Make-your-own piggies in blankets

Oh, dear. Poor Howard. How the man survives in Beverly Hills I do not know.

Howard is my BBQ judging buddy, travel agent to the stars, and one of two graduates of the Terrell Jones University of the South. Here’s Howard looking very dapper, indeed, standing in front of  a gentleman roasting chickens in France.  You would think a man who is among the great European gourmands would know all about Pigs in a Blanket. Now I will admit that I do not remember Terrell covering Pigs in a Blanket so perhaps Howard can be forgiven for his lack of knowledge in this area.

Here’s the comment he put on the blog: They don’t have them also in the West. All they have are Nathans Hot dogs in Lamb casing…wonderful!!!!!! Pigs in a blanket  ( at IHOP) are link sausage wrapped in a pancake. Is that the same down South?

No, dear Howard, Pigs in a Blanket are decidedly not pancakes wrapped around link sausage.

So I am going to instruct you on how to make your own. I am absolutely sure that whatever high-class supermarket you have in Beverly Hills stocks Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry in the freezer section.

I’m not so sure you can find the other key ingredient, but here goes. Howard, they are called “Lil Smokies” and they look just like this. You should be able to find them in the refrigerated case with the other sausages and bacon. Hillshire Farms is the preferred brand in the South, but a lot of meat purveyors make them. It doesn’t matter if they are beef or pork. Take your pick. I will digress a moment to say the other way Southerners love Lil Smokies is warmed in a chafing dish with a sauce of ketchup and grape jelly. The chafing dish must be sterling silver, of course.

But back to the Pigs. So, Howard, you take the puff pastry and let it thaw just enough to be pliable. Then you cut a strip wide enough to fit around the Lil Smoky (but so that both tips of the sausage are showing) and short enough that both ends just slightly overlap. Put them on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about ten minutes. Check them frequently just to make sure they don’t burn.

I serve them with mustard – again, take your pick. Dijon is good, but plain yellow mustard works just as well.

Howard, I know you are football starved in California since you are almost a continent away from the SEC, but this is the ultimate football food. If for some reason all the grocers in Beverly Hills have lost their minds and do not stock Lil Smokies, you just let me know, buddy. There will be some winging their way to you shortly.


4 Comments

  1. Betsy Everett
    Betsy EverettReply
    November 30, 2010 at 5:28 pm

    I use the Pillsbury crescent roll dough. 🙂

  2. howard
    howardReply
    November 30, 2010 at 6:51 pm

    Is it permissible to use an egg wash on the dough to give them a sheen?
    I also plan to wrap them in a crescent cut pastry dough look.
    But, I look forward to downing them on Saturday with the game a-blazin’

    • the south in my mouth
      the south in my mouthReply
      December 1, 2010 at 1:19 am

      I think creative cooks can take time-honored recipes to new heights. Just report back on the results and snap a digital photo so we can see the results!

  3. Dee Thompson
    December 1, 2010 at 3:51 am

    I don’t watch football, but I love the food… I was thinking when I started reading this “Lil Smokies in the grape jelly, BBQ sauce sauce are the BEST!” and then you mentioned it. Great minds think alike…

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