Mini Pigs in a Blanket

Mini Pigs in a Blanket are made with little beef smokies wrapped in a blanket of homemade milk bread. These little Asian style pigs in a blanket make wonderful appetizers for game day, Easter, or any parties you have coming up.

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What you’ll need

• A batch of my homemade milk bread dough. You can use pre-made yeasted dough or crescent dough from the tube but they will lack the sweetness the homemade milk bread dough has, which goes really well with the saltiness of the sausages, adding an extra layer of flavor.
• A package of little smokies. The one I got came with 38 mini sausages. If you have more or less sausages, simply adjust how many strips of dough you’re cutting out to modify for what you need.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Activate the yeast

Always check that the active dry yeast is working properly before continuing with the recipe to ensure success. If the yeast mixture doesn’t puff up when bloom, as pictured above, it is best to redo this step until you get an activated yeast mixture. Otherwise, your dough will not rise.

You can also use instant yeast if that’s what you have. Even though, it’s not necessary to “activate” instant yeast, I still recommend rehydrating it in the warm liquid.

Make sure whatever liquid being used is warm, and not hot. If you have a thermometer, check that is it below 110°F.

Allow the dough to rise properly

Rising time can vary, depending on the environment: temperature, humidity, barometric pressure. The dough will rise faster in warmer weather compared to colder weather, in higher altitude compared to lower altitude, etc.

Usually, the dough will rise faster in the summer, maybe between 1 to 1.5 hours. But in the winter, it can take up to 3 hours sometimes. So just be patient!

Searing the “piglets”

Usually, hot dogs and sausages like these are precooked, so you can wrap them up in their milk bun blanket directly. But I like to give them a little sear on all sides to add more flavor and smokiness.

If you cook them, make sure to set them aside to drain off the grease and allow them to cool before wrapping them.

Preparing the “blankets”

Whatever dough you’re using, make sure you cut up enough strips so all your pigs have a blanket. Here’s what I did:

• Once the dough has risen, dump it out onto a lightly flour counter top. Roll into a rectangle about 10”x12”, with the longer side facing you.
• Cut the dough in half so you get two 5”x12” strips of dough. Use a pizza cutter and a metal ruler for super easy cutting.
• Then divide each strip into 19 smaller strips about 5/8” wide and 5” long.
• Roll each sausage in one strip of dough to cover them entirely and place them on a parchment line baking sheet, about 2” apart, and let them rise until puffy and about double in size. Again, this may take some time, especially if you’re baking on a cold day.

Optional simple syrup

I made simple syrup by dissolving a teaspoon of sugar in a teaspoon of boiling water. Brushing it on to the buns will give them a beautiful shiny appearance and extra sweetness for that perfect sweet and salty flavor. Do this immediately after they come out of the oven.

It is optional but if you’re using store bought dough or crescent dough, I highly recommend it to add that extra little bit of sweetness.

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My husband made a mustard dipping the next day while we were snacking on these cute little mini pigs in a blanket for breakfast. I love how the spicy mustard really balances out the sweetness of the bread and the saltiness of the sausage. Everything came together like a perfect harmony of flavors.

So definitely serve them with mustard and enjoy!

More appetizer ideas

• Beef Chili Pan
• Chips with Guacamole or Poke
• Soft Pretzels and Pretzel Bites

5 from 3 votes

Piglets in Milk Bun Blankets

By Trang Doan

Piglets in Milk Bun Blankets are made with little beef smokies wrapped in homemade milk bread. These little Asian style pigs in a blanket will be the stars on your appetizer table at any party.

Servings: 38 mini pigs

Prep Time: 6 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 12 minutes mins

Total Time: 6 hours hrs 37 minutes mins

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ ½ cup heavy cream, 114 g
• ▢ ½ cup whole milk, 114 g
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar, 50 g
• ▢ 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• ▢ ¾ tsp kosher salt
• ▢ 2 cup all-purpose flour , plus 2 tablespoons, reserved, 270 g + 17 g
• ▢ Extra flour for rolling
• ▢ 1 package of little smokies, 38 sausages
• ▢ Mustard for dipping

Egg wash

• ▢ 1 whole egg
• ▢ 1 tablespoon whole milk

Simple syrup (optional)

• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon hot water

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Instructions 

• Add cream and milk to a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer, turn off heat and transfer to a stand mixer mixing bowl.
• Dissolve the sugar in the hot milk mixture using a whisk or spatula. Let it cool down to below 110°F.
• Sprinkle active dry yeast over the liquid surface and let it bloom for 10 – 15 minutes, the mixture should puff up.
• Add 2 cup of flour along with the salt to the liquid mixture.
• Knead with the dough hook on speed 2 until the dough comes together.
• If the dough is too wet, add the reserved flour, 1 tablespoon at at time, and continue kneading. The dough should still be wet but not too tacky.
• Grease a large bowl with cooking spray, butter or oil.
• Dump the dough out onto a lightly flour counter top and knead into a ball.
• Place the dough into the prepared bowl and let rise in a warm place for 2 – 3 hours until at least double in size.
• Sear the little smokies on all sides on a skillet over medium heat. Place them on paper towel to soak up some of the grease.
• Dump the risen dough out onto a lightly flour counter top and roll into a rectangle about 10”x12”, with the longer side facing you.
• Cut the dough in half so you get two 5”x12” strips of dough.
• Then divide each strip into 19 smaller strips about 5/8” wide and 5” long.
• Roll each sausage in one strip of dough and place on a parchment line baking sheet about 2” apart and let them rise for 2 – 3 hours until at least double in size.
• Beat one egg with a tablespoon of whole milk to make egg wash.
• Lightly brush egg wash all over the risen dough.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Brush the dough with egg wash the second time just before they go into the oven.
• Bake at 375°F for 12 minutes until golden brown.

Optional simple syrup:

• Dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar in 1 teaspoon of boiling water to make a quick simple syrup.
• Immediately brush the top of the bread with simple syrup as soon as it comes out of the oven for shine and sweetness.

Nutrition

Serving: 23g, Calories: 69kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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