Pigs in a blanket are easy to eat standing up, and you can bake them right on the grill. Dough bakes on a grill the same way it bakes in an oven: off the flame, lid shut. Roll crescent dough around cocktail franks the night before, and they come off the grill golden and hot instead of an hour out of the oven and going soft in a cooler.
At the lot: roll them the night before. The grill part is below. Homegating: Bake them in the oven and set them out at kickoff.
Home gear: 2 foil pans (9 × 13 in.) with lids or foil, a small jar with a lid, and a pizza cutter or sharp knife
20 MIN
At home, the night before
30 MIN
At the lot
12
Serves
Ingredients
Pigs
- 2 cans (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent roll dough, or 1 box (about 17 oz, 2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed in the fridge
- 48 cocktail franks or mini smoked sausages (about 2 packages), patted dry
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds (optional)
Dip
- ½ cup spicy brown mustard
- ½ cup honey mustard
Steps
At home
- Crescent dough: unroll it, separate the 8 triangles in each can, and cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 long, thin triangles, for 48. Puff pastry: cut each sheet into 24 small rectangles (4 strips one way, 6 the other).
- Set a frank on the wide end of each piece and roll it up. Lay them seam side down.
- Spray the foil pans and line up 24 in each, seam side down, with a little space between them. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours.
- Beat the egg in the small jar, close it and refrigerate it with the pans.
At the lot
- Set up the grill for indirect heat at about 375°F. On charcoal, bank the coals on one side. On propane, light one side and leave the other off.
- Uncover the pans, brush the tops with the egg and sprinkle on the seasoning. Set the pans on the cool side and close the lid.
- Bake 18 to 25 minutes, turning the pans halfway, until the dough is puffed and golden and a frank reads 165°F.
- Let them sit 5 minutes and serve with the mustards. Keep a pan on the cool side with the lid down so it stays at 140°F or above.
Pack for the lot
How to bake on a tailgate grill
- Two zones: bank the coals on one side, or light one side of a gas grill and leave the other off, so the pans sit over no flame at all. Direct heat burns dough from the bottom before the tops color.
- Nest the pans: foil pans are thin. Set each one inside a second empty pan and the bottoms stay golden instead of black.
- Lid down: the lid is what turns a grill into an oven. Aim for about 375 on the lid thermometer; they're done when the tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Peek once, at about 15 minutes, and turn the pans so the side nearest the fire doesn't run ahead.
Lot notes
- Two pans: start the second pan when the first is half gone. There's always a hot one. The rules for holding them are in how to keep food hot at a tailgate.
Crescent dough or puff pastry?
Crescent dough for most crews: it's soft, it bakes faster, and kids eat it. Puff pastry is flakier and takes a little longer to puff and brown, so give it the extra minutes on the grill. Either way, pat the franks dry first so the dough doesn't slide.
How many pigs in a blanket do you need for 20 people?
Plan on 4 each, so about 80. Double the recipe: 4 cans of crescent dough (or 2 boxes of puff pastry) and 96 franks in 4 pans makes 96 pieces. Bake 2 pans at a time.
Two bites, no plate, and the pan is empty before the burgers are done. That's the job.
Gear for this cook
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