Festive food and drink is such a huge part of the holiday season, a time when we can truly indulge. We all know the best part of a Christmas dinner is the mighty pigs in blankets - but which ones should you be buying ready for December 25?
I took the liberty of buying 84 pigs in blankets to give you a definitive answer. You’re welcome.
I bought packs of 12 standard pigs in blankets - no Extra Special or Taste the Difference, but likewise, not Just Essentials either - from M&S, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda - and there’s only one worth buying this December.
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A recent survey from Manchester's iconic hotel The Midland surveyed 2,010 Brits to create the Festive Food Trends report , which revealed the most popular festive dishes, as well as the dishes that we would rather relegate.
Naturally, pigs in blankets - the little sausages wrapped in bacon - came out on top, with 48 per cent of Brits voting them as the best Christmas trimming. But when it comes to buying them, do you stay loyal to your regular supermarket - or head elsewhere for better quality?
I took a 20-mile round trip to all of the supermarkets on a mission to uncover the ultimate pigs in blankets - and I think I’ve found them. I rated the porky treats on price, packaging, appearance and, most importantly, taste - and some fared far better than others. Here’s what I found.
Price and weight
There’s a whopping £2.26 difference between the cheapest pigs in blankets from Aldi and Lidl, at £1.99, and Marks and Spencer’s £4.25 pack - each for 12 bacon-wrapped sausages.
Elsewhere, Morrisons pack of 12 came in at £2.25, while Asda’s were £2.40 and Tesco 10p more at £2.50.
Sainsbury’s were the second most expensive at £3 per pack - but it makes sense, since they’re one of the heaviest too, coming in at 260g. M&S were heaviest at 282g, while Asda, Lidl and Aldi all weighed 222g, Tesco at 228g, with Morrisons coming in smallest at 210g.
Here are the sausages in order of price per 100g
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Lidl and Aldi 89p per 100g
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Morrisons £1.07 per 100g
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Asda £1.08 per 100g
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Tesco £1.09 per 100g
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Sainsbury’s £1.15 per 100g
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M&S £1.50 per 100g
Packaging and appearance
When it comes to packaging design, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons win for me, complete with proper party packaging - not just ‘red with a bit of glitter’ like most of the others. M&S had some of the most boring packaging, with a barely noticeable holly illustration being the only remotely festive thing about it - but Tesco’s was by far the bleakest.
Packaging in order of festiveness:
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Sainsbury’s
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Morrisons
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Asda
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Aldi
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Lidl
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M&S
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Tesco
I considered which looked the best before cooking, and it was safe to say M&S chunky looking sausages won that one, appearing to have the most bacon. Tesco’s looked tiny in comparison, while Morrisons just looked a bit messy really, having to re-wrap some of the pigs before I could even put them in the oven.
Taste
I cooked two of each sausage to provide a blind taste test for my family, who would go on to try half a sausage from each supermarket. After being in the oven on Gas Mark 6 for 25 minutes, they looked ready to eat - but some looked more appealing than others.
Post-roast, it was Lidl’s that looked the best, with crispy bacon and a well-coloured meat - but, upon eating, the meat was quite gristly with quite an earthy flavour. Similarly, Aldi’s didn’t pack much flavour, with the streaky bacon being quite fatty. This means shoppers would do better to spend a little extra on their pigs in blankets, with both budget options failing the taste test for all four people.
With a rating falling in the middle was Tesco, with quite a salty flavour due to the abundance of bacon, while Morrisons previously messy pigs in blankets looked rather appealing, but lacked in flavour.
Asda’s offering was quite ‘bratwurst-y’, with a consistent texture without gristle - leaving Sainsbury’s or M&S to take the crown for the best pigs in blankets for 2022.
M&S’s pigs in blankets lost points for bacon shrinkage, no longer actually blanketing the sausage, but clinging onto it for dear life. It appears that although the thought of a thicker sausage might seem like a good idea, the end result just isn’t as satisfying. For me, it was Sainsbury’s who brought home the bacon with a herby sausage that tasted like effort had been made to put these together. They were richer than cheaper offerings, with the perfect bacon to sausage ratio.
It seems you really do get what you pay for with pigs in blankets - but M&S’s are, in my opinion, a bit overpriced. Sainsbury’s £3 option (which is also gluten free) was my winner and well worth the money.
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