For most of my life, I assumed certain truths about pigs in a blanket to be self-evident and steadfast: First, they are, without question, hot dogs wrapped in a crust. Second, they are kid food. Then, in terrible twin blows to the reassuring order of my world, I learned that neither conviction was universal. In conversation, a friend referred to breakfast sausage wrapped in a pancake as “pigs in a blanket.” Not long after, I saw a New York Times article about the savory version’s popularity at swanky cocktail parties. Who knew?
Updating Pigs in a Blanket
Call them “haute dogs” -- a kids’ favorite, made over for sophisticated tastes but still a lot of fun to eat.
With my horizons newly expanded (except for the pancake thing), I’ve decided to run with the concept. Along the way I learned to use fully cooked sausages, as opposed to fresh. Fresh ones, even when you cook them before wrapping, contain enough moisture to make the dough soggy. Also, if your package of sausages contains five rather than four, go ahead and roll the dough a little longer and thinner to accommodate the extra sausage -- I scaled the recipes for that possibility. Last, the baked dough wrapper is delicate, so if you choose to cut the pigs in a blanket into pieces, use a serrated knife to minimize the chances of crumbling.
Caraway and Onion Pigs in a Blanket
Makes 4
1cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1½teaspoons baking powder
2½ teaspoons lightly toasted caraway seeds, plus extra for sprinkling
1½tablespoons onion powder
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into roughly ½-inch cubes
1/3 cup cold buttermilk
4 weisswurst, fully cooked Sheboygan-style bratwurst or chicken sausages, or hot dogs, about 4½ inches long
1 egg yolk
Set oven rack in middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone liner, and set aside.
In a food processor, process the 1 cup flour, baking powder, 2½ teaspoons caraway seeds, onion powder, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste until well blended. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the buttermilk and pulse until dough just comes together into moist pebble-sized pieces or a single mass.
Generously flour a work surface, then knead the dough 3 or 4 times, just until it is uniform and cohesive. Sprinkle a bit more flour, if necessary, and roll dough into a rectangle roughly 4 by 18 inches; it should be 1/8 to ¼ inch thick. Trim edges straight and cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces.
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