As a food writer, I love the grandeur of Thanksgiving dinner. As a human trash can with goat-like food likes and dislikes, I love the herding culture of New Year’s Eve parties, especially the salty snacks like pigs in a blanket. This year, we offer a fun twist on this classic New Year’s meal as we remove the pastry from a pressurized tube. Let the piglet rest and make pickles in the blanket.
It is effective to wrap the pig in a blanket and eat it. Because this little hot dog is packed with salt, fat, and flavor. Wrapping it in buttery pastry creates a doubly rich hand-me-down that pairs well with beer. They’re great, but the salt and fat content alone can overwhelm them.
Swap out the mini weenies for crunchy weenie gherkins. In this accidental vegan snack, the tartness and light texture of small kosher dill pairs well with the soft texture and richness of the pastry dough.
It may seem strange to bake pickles, which are usually served cold and dripping with brine, but cooking pickles is actually a great technique. As you may know, Stir-fry other pickled vegetables, the time spent in the oven evaporates excess moisture and concentrates the flavor of the pickling spices. The sharp taste of pickle brine is mellowed out and the taste becomes more mellow. Dare we say it’s sophisticated enough to pair with a New Year’s martini?
How to make pickles in bed
Credit: Aly Chanthong Lineman
There’s no fancy technique to making these crunchy bites. Just make this snack the same way you make Lil’ Smokey. Unwrap the pastry dough and cut into strips about 2 inches long and about 0.5 inch wide. You can resize the strips to fit the size of your pickles.
Remove the pickles from the jar and pat dry on paper towels. I also do this for Cocktail Weenie. Because it’s a hassle to deal with when they’re sliding around. Place the gherkins on top of the dough strips and roll them up. Place seam side down on a baking sheet. Repeat this with all the dough and petit pickles. Bake in the oven at 375°F for about 12 minutes or until well browned. Serve in bowls and top with ketchup or mustard. Oddly enough, I thought it might be too tangy, but the Dijon mustard really brings out the flavor of the pickles.
Pickles alone or with pork
You can also keep it simple and use only pickles to make this two-bite snack. Use your favorite pickles for this recipe. All go well with puff pastry. Try the sweet bread and butter pickles or the aggressive cornichon. If you can’t find small pickles, buy whole pickles or spears and cut them into small segments.
Pillsbury’s Original Crescent Rolls do not contain any animal-based ingredients, but if you are vegan or have other dietary restrictions, please double check the refrigerated pastry you are using to ensure that the ingredients meet your dietary needs. Please check if it is.
Since I’m not trying to avoid meat, I also tried a few different combinations with pickles as a stand-alone filling. Mini gherkins wrapped in thinly sliced smoky chorizo and tied with crescent roll dough. I also decided that nothing could be better than that and put a whole mini gherkin and a whole mini wiener inside a double-sized puff pastry. All the pickle variations were definitely great and frankly better than the original solitary hot dog in the dough. A mild salty punch cuts through the salt and fat of the pork and the richness of the pastry, creating a perfectly balanced party snack.
My suggestion for a New Year’s Eve party is to make a little bit of everything: a bowl of pickles wrapped in a blanket, an original pig bowl wrapped in a blanket, and a bowl of pickle and pork combinations. It will make you wonder why you haven’t paired pickles with pork until now.