A television chef has revealed a popular “trick” supermarkets use to create the perfect pigs in blankets.
The sausage side dish is often considered a key part of Christmas dinner for families up and down the country. But many home cooks can often struggle to get their bacon wrapped neatly around their sausage.
Now Mike Reid, who has appeared on shows such as Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen and Ready Steady Cook on the BBC has revealed how supermarkets get their sausages wrapped so tightly. Speaking on Channel 5’s The Taste Test Restaurant, Mike revealed the key step is stretching out your bacon.
Mike explained: “The key to making a good pigs in blanket is the stretching of the bacon. So, as this cooks in the oven because of the fat content in the bacon, it’s going to shrink.”
“But because we’ve stretched it, there’s so much space now for that to shrink into, so it’s not going to unravel, it’s nice and tight. There’s nothing worse than when your bacon falls off your chipolata.”
“So you can achieve this at home by using the back of your knife to stretch out that bacon. This is what supermarkets do, they’ll have machines that do this for them, that elongate the bacon.”, reports the Express.
Mike provided these insights while showcasing how to make the perfect pigs in blankets following a team of taste testers who declared Co-op’s honey and truffle variety the top choice among supermarket offerings, just ahead of Asda’s maple pigs in blankets and Marks and Spencer’s classic version.
While Asda’s sausages wrapped in maple bacon are a budget-friendly £2.25, the Co-Op’s own version of pigs in blankets will make you part with £3.50. High-end MandS tops the list with its variation costing a hefty £5.50 for 14 pieces.
Shoppers heaped praise on the Co-op offering, with one customer remarking, “Actually, it’s quite Christmassy. But it still looks like a breakfast sausage.”
Another added: “It’s a really good pigs in blanket. It compliments the bacon quite well, there’s a good herb going through the sausage.”
Channel 5’s Taste Test Restaurant is available to watch online.
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