On April 24, observe National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day with just a few ingredients.
- In the United States, Pigs-in-a-Blanket are often hot dogs or sausages wrapped in biscuit or croissant dough and baked.
- In Mexico, they are known as Salchitaco’s, a portmanteau of salchica (which means sausage) and the almost universally recognizable taco, and are wrapped in tortillas before being dunked into sizzling hot vegetable oil.
- Perhaps our favorite international variation is the nakkipiilo, which is the Finnish word for what we know as Pigs In A Blanket, and means, cleverly enough “hidden sausage”.
- In Russia, this dish is named Сосиска в тесте (Sosiska v teste, “sausage in dough“).
- The name can also refer to klobasnek (a kind of kolache filled with sausage or ham slices). The German Würstchen im Schlafrock (“sausage in a dressing gown“) uses sausages wrapped in puff pastry, or, more rarely, pancakes. Cheese and bacon are sometimes present.
- In Israel, Moshe Ba’Teiva (Moses in the basket) is a children’s dish consisting of a hot dog rolled in a ketchup-covered sheet of puff pastry or phyllo dough and baked.
- In Denmark, there is a dish similar to the British-style dish known as the Pølse i svøb, which means “sausage in blanket”, usually sold at hot dog stands known as pølsevogn (sausage-wagons). The American-style pigs in a blanket are known as Pølsehorn, meaning “Sausage horns”.
- In Finland, pigs in blanket are known as nakkipiilo, which means “hidden sausage” if it is translated freely.
- In both Australia and New Zealand, pig in a blanket is a cocktail frankfurter wrapped in bacon or puff pastry.
- In China, a Chinese sausage wrapped in pastry is called “Lap Cheong Bao” and is steamed rather than baked. In southern Canton, particularly Hong Kong, a sausage wrapped in pastry is called “Cheung Jai Bau” or “Hot Dog Bun” and is baked instead of being steamed.
- In Estonia, they are referred to as “viineripirukas”, which means sausage pastry.
- In Serbia, the dish has a name “rol viršla”, lit. (hot) dog roll. Rol viršla is a very popular type of fast food in Serbia.
- The first written record of pigs in a blanket occurs in Betty Crocker’s Cooking for Kids in 1957.
- Pigs in a blanket are also known as devils on horsebacks, kilted sausages, and wiener winks.
- In the United Kingdom, pigs in blankets are small sausages, or chipolatas wrapped up in bacon.
- On Nov, 24, 2017 headlines in the UK screamed, “Giant ‘pig in blanket’ created for Christmas serves 24.” A butcher has created a lip smacking Christmas centerpiece for fans of bacon wrapped sausages containing a mountain of pork meat and 16 meters of bacon.
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