How To Make The Perfect Pigs In A Blanket Slideshow

The name "pigs in a blanket" leaves a world of options open for when you're making your cocktail wieners. Depending on what country or culture you're enjoying them in, the blanket-wrapped "pig" could be a variety of pork-based foods, including vienna sausages, mini hot dogs, or breakfast sausage links. The recipe we're most familiar with uses mini franks, available at many grocery stores in 14-ounce packages. Whichever pigs you go with, make sure to pat them dry and poke a few holes in them before blanketing them so they don't make the dough soggy and they don't burst while baking. 

There's always that special bite to a mini hot dog, and it's due to a layer of Dijon mustard between the dough and the frank. To make sure your dogs have an extra bit of tang, spread a thin layer of mustard on the dough before rolling them up.

There's one thing that's inevitable for the home cook to avoid when making pigs in a blanket, and it's using store-bought dough. A lot of people buy pre-made croissant dough and roll up their mini franks inside it, but for the classic, perfect mini hot dog, you want an even amount of dough wrapped around it, so buying square sheets of puff pastry and cutting them into strips the width of your franks is the way to go.

There's nothing more rewarding than making something from scratch at home, and these classic appetizers are easy to make by keeping a few simple things in mind. 

Click here to see the recipe. 

Pigs in a blanket wouldn't be what they are without their sidekicks. Some people's dipping sauce of choice is mustard, and for others it's ketchup, but for safety's sake, better put out both. 

The crispy dough wrapped around the hot dog is important, and there's nothing worse than when you go to scoop them off the baking sheet and they're all stuck to it. You don't want your pigs' blankets to get torn, so make sure to grease your baking sheet well before placing them on it to bake.