PIGS in blankets are a Christmas dinner staple – but which ones are the best this year?
The Sun has tested the traditional treats from major supermarkets Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Lidl, and compared them with ones from posh supermarket Waitrose.
We cooked the pigs in blankets according to their packet instructions and gave them a score out of ten for taste.
We also rated them out of ten for value, based on their price per 100g and their total meat content.
Aldi only offered to send premium pigs in blankets to The Sun ahead of launch this year, so they’ve not been included in our test.
Here’s how the pigs in blankets from all the other supermarkets scored out of 20 overall:
Waitrose British Pork Pigs in Blankets
- £5.25 for 252g pack, £2.08 per 100g (12 pigs in blankets)
The Waitrose pigs in blankets were nearly twice the price of the cheapest supermarket brands we tried – yet they were disappointing.
The bacon had a very sweet maple flavour, which made it difficult to taste anything else. And the sausage had a mushy and greasy texture.
At a whopping £2.08 per 100g, these did not taste a cut above the cheaper brands. And they had a low pork content of just 63%.
- Taste: 6/10
- Value: 5/10
- Total: 11/10
WINNER: Tesco 12 Juicy Pigs in Blankets (Frozen)
- £4.50 for 400g, £1.13 per 100g (20 pigs in blankets)
Tesco launched a “pigs in blankets with gravy mayo” product in mid-November, but you’ll find its standard pigs in blankets in the frozen section too.
They cook from frozen in 35 minutes.
The bacon was thin, crispy and tasty, which made up for the mushy, bland sausage. Although it was very salty.
The small print reveals some unusual ingredients like “bamboo fibre” and “caramelised sugar syrup”, but contained 67% pork overall.
Despite this, they’re very moreish – and at £1.13 per 100g, the cheapest ones we tried at the big four supermarkets.
- Taste: 8/10
- Value: 8/10
- Total: 16/20
Asda Delicious Pigs in Blankets
- £2.78 for 222g, £1.25 per 100g (12 pigs in blankets)
Asda’s pigs in blankets had a meaty taste.
That’s no surprise as the sausage contained a decent 72% pork, while the bacon was made with 87% pork belly.
But there was a strange synthetic smoky taste added to the bacon – and our testers didn’t like how the pigs in blankets stuck to their teeth and left their mouths feeling greasy.
At £1.25 per 100g, these were a reasonable price for the quality.
- Taste: 6/10
- Value: 8/10
- Total: 14/20
Sainsbury’s Butcher’s Choice Pigs in Blankets
- £3.25 for 260g, £1.24 per 100g (12 pigs in blankets)
These Sainsbury’s pigs in blankets didn’t look great, as the bacon fell off quite a few during cooking.
But the sausage tasted like a proper little cocktail sausage (even though it had quite a low 62% pork content).
The bacon was very thin and a bit stringy and chewy.
Although these cost more per pack than other supermarket options, the sausages were bigger than those in the other supermarket brands – so they worked out at a very reasonable £1.25 per 100g.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 8/10
- Total: 15/20
Morrisons Pigs in Blankets
- £2.47 for 222g, £1.15 per 100g (12 pigs in blankets)
The Morrisons pigs in blankets had a thick and meaty sausage but they tasted a bit cheap.
They were wrapped in thick crispy bacon but the much stronger taste of the sausage overpowered any smoky bacon flavour.
For £1.15 per 100g though, these were one of the cheapest products we tried – although they lost a point on value because the total pork content wasn’t declared.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 7/10
- Total: 14/20
Lidl Birchwood Butcher’s Choice Pigs in Blankets
- £1.99 for 222g, 90p per 100g (12 pigs in blankets)
Lidl’s pigs in blankets contained a tasty chipolata sausage with a strong 72% pork content.
The bacon was a little chewy and stringy, and tasted like artificial smoky bacon flavour.
These were overall decent pigs in blankets but they were tiny.
They shrunk a lot during cooking and were much skinnier than other brands we tested.
Although the uncooked weight was 222g, you likely end up with less.
But at a bargain 90p per 100g, these were much cheaper than the pigs in blankets on sale at the big four supermarkets.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 8/10
- Total: 15/20
