Pigs in a blanket is one of the most classic snacks. Nothing is simpler than a mini hot dog wrapped up in some quality puff pastry, yet it still makes for one of the most popular hors d’oeuvres. There’s also room for customization, and Giada De Laurentiis shared a recipe on Season 8, Episode 4 of “Giada at Home” that offers an elevated twist to the snack, swapping hot dogs for the Italian sausage known as mortadella.
Mortadella is made up of ground pork and cubes of pork fat (that’s what the white spots distributed throughout the cut of meat are). Sometimes, the meat will be mixed with pistachios and black peppercorns that have extra flavor and crunch, making for a unique texture. For this recipe, via Food Network, De Laurentiis uses frozen puff pastry, wraps strips of mortadella in the dough, then coats each pig in a blanket with egg wash and some Gruyere before baking in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes and serving with Dijon mustard.
How to perfect and customize this recipe
Mortadella comes in many different forms, but to best imitate the texture and feeling of hot dogs, you’ll need to cut the meat. For De Laurentiis’ recipe, she suggests chopping it into “batons,” about 1/2-by-1/2-by-2 1/2-inch.
If you want a wild twist to this recipe, instead of using frozen puff pastry, such as Pillsbury crescent rolls, you can replace the “blanket” with cinnamon roll dough to create a sweet and salty mortadella combination. Or for an extra flaky and buttery flair, you can use store-bought croissant dough as a replacement for typical puff pastry. For the opposite, an ultra-savory effect, you can try an herb butter to dress the pigs in a blanket.
Expanding your horizons with a different cut of meat might be exactly what you need for your next take on this snack. Although different than the ordinary, using mortadella will provide the same salty craving you’re looking for.
