Dutch Pig in a Blankets

January 04, 2013

Dutch Pig in a Blankets

As promised, you will find below the step-by-step guide to making Dutch pig in the blankets. They are an omage to my husband’s heritage and a treat my son truly LOVES. The kid eats them covered (and I mean literally COVERED) in ketchup. Since I don’t eat meat, they are not something I enjoy, but it makes the family happy J This was the first time my 13 year old daughter made them as well, so we had some good laughs. The pictures are not the greatest, but hopefully they will help.

Ingredients:

4 pounds pork sausage

1 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs

Milk, if needed

6 cups flour

2Tablespoons baking soda

4teaspoons sugar

1teaspoon salt

2cups cold margarine

1 cup milk (more if needed)

Now most of the good old-fashioned Dutch recipes call for ground pork and beef that is mixed and seasoned for the sausage or ‘pig’ part of the dish. I choose not to go that far and simply buy the sausage.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and get a couple baking pans ready. You will need to spray them with some cooking spray to protect that lovely crust on the bottom of the pig.

Combine the first three ingredients in a large bowl. The best way to get a good mix on this is to get in and get those hands dirty. Yep,this gets a little messy, but isn’t that the fun part? If the mixture is really dry, you will need to add a little milk. We like it a little gooey at this stage (keeps them from drying out when they are baked and frozen) but it does need to hold its shape. So, you’ll have to be the judge on that one.

o:p>

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Yep, all the flour at once on this recipe. Next, cut in your margarine until it breaks down pretty finely. You can do the ol’ double knife trick if you don’t have a pastry blender. (If you use two knives, just criss-cross thempast each other over and over through the margarine). Some recipes say the size of marbles, but I try to get it smaller yet. Add the milk. Again, you are going to have to just get your hands in there and mix things up. You want everything to come together into a big squishy blob. Once that happens, you can dump it onto a floured surface. We just use the counter(but, I do sanitize it first J). Work with the dough until it is smooth.

I usually coat my bowl with flour and dump a good portion of the dough back in (I like to work with it about ¼ at a time). Roll the dough into a long rectangle. I try to get the dough about six inches wide and a quarter inch thick throughout. If it looks anything like mine does when I roll it, you will need to trim some excess off and dump it back in the bowl. This isn’t an exact science, at least for me.

Then back to the meat. I gather a good handful and start to make long rolls of it. It doesn’t have to be continuous. Just form it a handful at a time until it is the same length as the dough. This is usually about the size of a hot dog. Although my daughter tends to make them fatter, and that is good too

Get a small cup of water. Not much, just enough to drip your fingers in is good. Start rolling the dough around the meat. You want to dampen the overlap and pinch it closed (hence the water). Once I have the entire roll done, I usually roll it back and forth over the seam. Then, you can the cut the ‘pigs’ into the length you want them. For breakfast or dinner size, I usually do about 3 inches. When I made them as an appetizer for my inlaws 50^thanniversary party, I did one inch pieces. This is a peronsal choice for you to make, although I wouldn’t over do it either, they might not cook real well if the are too long (and that is just plain yucky!).

Place the cut pieces on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about a half hour. Again, this will need to be adjusted per your oven and the size of the pigs. Lately, my oven has been cooking extra hot,so I have to decrease the temp and time (although I think my family is getting used to that yummy black layer on the bottom J).

Now, a lot of recipes say that pigs must be frozen unbanked. I freeze mine baked so that they are easy for the kids to grab and heat in the mornings or for a quick dinner. If they are froze, they take alot longer to bake, obviously. Another choice that you can make J

Like I said before, my family loves them served with ketchup(and lots of it!). At the party, I did offer mustard as well.

I hope you give them a shot. It sounds like a lot of work, and admittedly, it isn’t the easiest thing Icook; that’s what makes them a special treat at our house!