The best thing about Christmas: An ode to pigs in blankets

Suitable for vegetarians (no, really)


After engaging in an hour-long conversation with a friend about the food at Christmas being the culinary highlight of the year, I came to the conclusion that pigs in blankets are the real MVP.

With beautifully crispy bacon on the outside and tangy, perfectly seasoned juicy sausage meat on the inside, what’s not to like? In fact, it’s impossible to deny the fact that pigs in blankets are literally the best food, bar none.

Pigs in blankets come with no negatives. Whether you choose to make them yourself or buy them in from a shop, they’re guaranteed to be delicious. The fact that they only really appear during Christmas time emphasises their importance as a special treat and, let’s face it, Christmas dinner is not complete without them.

Everything is enjoyable in moderation and only having 3 or 4 on your plate tantalises your taste buds without allowing you to take them for granted, making you appreciate them for the small packages of perfection that they truly are.

Other elements of the Christmas meal are more divisive whereas it is a truth universally acknowledged that pigs in blankets are king. You can guarantee that your weird cousin Kevin will have an issue with your nan’s slightly undercooked cabbage, Uncle Pete will spend the whole time hating on the sprouts and someone will moan about not having a toy in their cracker, but one thing remains certain, the love for the chipolatas wrapped in bacon will maintain unity and order.

Not everyone’s a fan

‘But I’m vegetarian!’ I hear you cry. Well panic no more my friend, there is in fact many different vegetarian options available for pigs in blankets.

You could opt for the simpler Quorn sausage and bacon combination, in order to get as close to the meaty option as possible, or PETA themselves offer a recipe for a vegan option involving wrapping veggie sausages, bacon and vegan cheese into little doughy parcels. The versatility and universal accessibility for these little bundles of joy alone should be enough to convince you of the importance of pigs in blankets.

If this hasn’t already convinced you that pigs in blankets are number one, the fact that they have cool names in different languages definitely will. In German they’re referred to as Würstchen im Schlafrock or ‘sausage in a dressing gown’ – how adorable? –  and are sometimes wrapped in puff pastry with added cheese.

Just your standard Würstchen im Schlafrock

In Israel however, they are served to kids and consist of a hot dog wrapped in pastry dipped in ketchup and are called Moshe Ba’Teiva, meaning ‘Moses in the ark’. Other names for pigs in blankets’ counterparts include: Сосиска в тесте (Russian), Pølse i svøb (Danish), saucijzenbroodje (Dutch) and, my personal favourite, nakkipiilo (Finnish) translated freely to mean ‘hidden sausage’. Pigs in blankets are popular all over the world, for good reason.

The universality of these festive delights reminds us of how unique and important pigs in blankets are and just how lucky we are for them to be a part of our Christmas feasts. Christmas brings about many amazing foods and drinks but everyone knows that it is, in fact, pigs in blankets that make the world go round. We love you little piggies, we do, we do.