Marmalade pigs in blankets

Name: Marmalade pigs in blankets
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: Makes 12
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon; 12 chipolatas; 2 tbsp chunky marmalade

Portion size: Makes 12
Hands-on time 10 min. Oven time 22 min
Difficulty: easy

Freezable

Emily Gussin

Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

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Always the first thing to disappear from the Christmas table, pigs in blankets are truly great if you make them yourself. These citrus-glazed piggies are worth far more than the 10 minutes it takes to prepare them.

Chipolatas are ideal for pigs in blankets – thin enough to cook quickly but big enough to stay juicy and bouncy. Marmalade works beautifully here, providing a sweet, sticky glaze, a festive citrus flavour, plus a bitter note to balance everything.

Feeling a bit extra? Why not have a go at making homemade marmalade, too?

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Before you start

Why they’re the best pigs in blankets
Go big: The trouble with shop-bought pigs in blankets is that they’re usually cocktail-sausage-sized – which tend to dry out and shrivel up a bit in the oven. Full-size sausages would be too big, but chipolatas are perfect – still thin enough to cook quickly but big enough to stay juicy and bouncy.

Winning streak: Streaky bacon is key as it has an even layer of fat and meat throughout – back bacon tends to dry out and turn rubbery in the oven. Smoked bacon will complement the sausage best and stretching out the rashers means you can cover more of the sausage with them, making sure those little piggies are well wrapped up.

Something sweet: Bacon and sausage are two very delicious but quite rich and salty things – so a little sweetness is the perfect counterweight. Marmalade works perfectly here, providing sweetness, festive citrus flavour plus a bitter note which balances everything out nicely. It also reduces quickly and easily into a sticky glaze, adhering to your blanketed pigs as they move from roasting tray to serving platter.

Know-how: As there are only three ingredients going into these pigs in blankets, buying good-quality chipolatas, bacon and marmalade makes all the difference.

Make ahead: You can wrap the sausages in bacon and keep them covered in their roasting tray in the fridge for up to 3 days, meaning all you have to do on Christmas Day is put them in the oven.

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Ingredients

6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
12 chipolatas
2 tbsp chunky marmalade

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Method

Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Cut the bacon rashers in half widthways, lay them on the work surface then, applying gentle pressure, run the flat of your knife blade along them, lengthways, to stretch them out into longer pieces. Wrap a piece of bacon around each chipolata.
Arrange the pigs in blankets on a non-stick or lightly greased baking tray and roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway.
Spoon over the marmalade, toss the pigs in blankets until coated, then return to the oven for 2 minutes until glazed.
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Nutrition

104kcals Calories
6.6g (2.3g saturated) Fat
5.5g Protein
5.5g (2.8g sugars) Carbs
0g Fibre
0.7g Salt

Make Ahead

You can wrap the sausages in bacon and keep them covered in their roasting tray in the fridge for up to 3 days, meaning all you have to do on Christmas Day is put them in the oven.