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If you take the lead in preparing food for this year’s holiday, covering some pigs with blankets in the refrigerator can easily be off the list.

The mini pork set is a popular addition to many holiday foods, so make sure you understand our guide on how to make the ultimate pig with a blanket at home.

We asked David Linders of the British Meat Processors Association for important tips on how to prepare and freeze your own pigs in a blanket to help alleviate some of the anxiety about dining this Christmas .

It can also be cheaper-we compared the cost of DIY pigs with the cost of pre-prepared pigs and found that it can save costs.

Finally, if you don’t want to bother, we provide some tips on buying pre-prepared pigs to freeze for Christmas now-and those who are gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian.

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First, you need sausages of the correct size and style to get the best results.

If possible, use high-quality chiporata sausages with a high meat content-ideally around 75% meat or higher.

David said: "This is because they not only have the taste and juiciness you need, but the higher the meat content, the more likely they are to be made with natural casings instead of synthetic or collagen casings."

Natural sausage casings are made from the intestines of animals including sheep and pigs, which can withstand the next stage of blanket preparation for your pigs.

If you can't buy this type, please choose cheaper chili or any other thin pork sausage.

If you prefer to use thicker ones-or can't get anything else-remember that when you come to cook them, cook them at a lower temperature for a longer time.

For those who do not eat gluten, many sausages are now gluten-free, but please check the packaging to make sure before buying.

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The sausages on the pigs covered with a blanket are very short-about half the size of a regular chiporata-so they are perfect for bite size.

To achieve this effect, separate your chipolatas (if they are not loose yet), then twist one of them in opposite directions before cutting in a new position on the casing string.

David said: "This is why natural casings are the best: when you twist and cut to make smaller sausages, they won't crack or split."

Or, you might get uncooked cocktail sausages, which is actually what you did when you split the chipolatas in two.

Poke each sausage with a fork or cocktail stick to make sure they will not break when they are cooked.

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David said: "Skinless pork belly is the best, otherwise you won't be able to wrap it around the sausage easily. Depending on your preference, you can use smoked, unsmoked or maple marinade.

Place the bacon on the board, cut it in the middle and stretch it slightly (but not too thin), then wrap each half on each small sausage. You can then freeze the pigs in this state until you need them (more tips on how to do this correctly below).

If you have trouble putting them together, you can pin the bacon with a cocktail stick.

Before cooking, David recommends sprinkling a wad of running honey on each sausage and letting it drizzle on the sides of the sausages to form a more viscous glaze after they are cooked.

Squeezing the honey bottle makes this job easier.

Thaw frozen pigs in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking. It is worthwhile to write down the packaging instructions when making pigs so you can get guidance on temperature and time, but generally speaking, they take 35-40 minutes.

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Yes, you can, whether it's raw or cooked leftovers.

You can also freeze fresh pigs prepared in advance in the store (check the packaging instructions) or buy ready-made frozen pigs wrapped in blankets.

If home-made pigs are frozen, Helen White, special consultant for household food waste at WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Plan), recommends that they be "open frozen" on a tray (usually there is an elongated shelf at the top of the freezer for the purpose), Then transfer them to a sealed container to prevent them from clumping.

Other freezing and thawing techniques:

The pigs left in the blanket can also be frozen, even if they were frozen raw.

Helen said: "Your refrigerator is your friend-twice-on this refrigerator, but only once after defrosting to reheat the previously cooked pig with a blanket."

It may be cheaper to make it yourself, but only for this, and you may find pre-prepared options that lower the price.

We compared the unit costs of two different supermarkets and found that some savings can be made, so if you can, it's worth shopping around and checking how costs are measured.

Making your own pig in the blanket also gives you the opportunity to experiment with alternative ingredients.

BBC Good Food recommends twists and turns, including adding sage leaves to the package or replacing sausages with chestnuts and butternut squash, and Jamie Oliver recommends using a little Worcester sauce in addition to honey.

If you just want to pick up a pack and put it in the refrigerator, it's worth shopping around as the availability varies.

Some stores have started stocking fresh pigs in blankets, while others currently only offer frozen options, or some options that can be ordered at Christmas.

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Although the potential scarcity of pork in the blanket is the main content of the headlines, you may also want to be successful in vegan or vegetarian Christmas preparations.

If you want something that looks close to the real thing, you can choose to use vegan sausages and bacon and follow a method similar to the one outlined above. However, please check the individual packages for freezing recommendations, as some people say they are not suitable for freezing.

Check out the results of our taste test of pork and vegan pigs in blankets in 2020, because when we tasted a series of supermarket products, we were not completely surprised by fake bacon, which tends to be cooked when cooked Dry out.

Another option is to choose a "pig in a duvet", which is a vegetarian sausage wrapped in a vegetarian pastry-see the story above again. However, these may be a bit bulky for your main dinner plate.

For ready-made vegetarian and vegetarian options, the situation is similar-most are not yet on the shelves.

We expect that most large supermarkets will buy in close to Christmas, or can be ordered, you can learn about the various options in our 2020 taste test (link above).

If you don't want to wait, do it yourself.

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Categories: Home and Garden, Shopping, Food and Beverage

Tagged as: Christmas dinner Christmas food