Please would you describe what you mean by the above phrase? I ask because I had no idea, until just now, that there could be two (maybe more) such different meanings.
There are various meanings for the term pig-in-a-blanket, all foods to me. I know them as stuffed cabbage (or cabbage rolls or halupki, if you like); another meaning would be a sausage, often a hot dog, wrapped in some sort of bread dough and then baked. Those are the only ones I know. I would imagine there must be others, but I think they would be less common than the two I mentioned.
And that’s the thing: You can’t know what a pig-in-a-blanket is just on the strength of the term itself.
Right. That’s what I half suspected, from a sort of sideways comment on another forum. In the UK, there is a specific meaning (as far as I know): chipolata sausages (not the same as hot dogs at all) wrapped in streaky bacon and baked. No dough; no pastry; different sausages.
Strange, eh?
Well now, I’m just wondering if maybe there are meanings I’m not aware of, even perhaps here in the UK. I doubt it, never having come across any other meaning before, but who knows, now that my world has been turned upside down?
That would be another one. In the US we wouldn’t be as rigorous about the sausage type, though; while hot dogs tend to be the norm, just about any kind might do. Even the short little cocktail weenies might be a variation. With the bacon-wrapped variety, they might either be baked or broiled.
In the US, “pig-in-a-blanket” seems to basically come down to meats or preparations with meat, wrapped in something.
I swear you’re just doing that deliberately now. I’ve had to look up that word. I had only come across it in old books, as the decidedly archaic word having to do with street fighting or bar disturbances. The American meaning looks the same as what we would call “baked” to me.
Here in the States it’s not archaic at all, but quite current, and we draw a distinction between broiling and baking, although it seems to me that you might find it too fine a point. Broiling involves the highest heat from either elements or flames at the top of the oven, with the item being broiled set on the top rack so as to be closest to the heat source. But not all (Yank, I expect) ovens come with a broiler feature. To illustrate the difference better, you can’t bake bread using the broiler; it would only burn the top of the loaf and leave the rest uncooked. Broiling is a relatively fast process using intense heat at close overhead proximity; with baking, the heat typically comes from below and the item being baked is surrounded more or less evenly by the heated atmosphere of the oven’s interior, and more time is involved.
To be honest, I’m rather surprised that “broil” isn’t part of your cuisinological lexicon.
Oh. In that case, no, I’ve never come across it. I’ve never come across an oven with that sort of feature - a grill, yes, but nothing like what you seem to be describing. Personally, I have an Aga.
Meanwhile …
You must have heard the term as used in the UK, surely Phill? You know - those things that absolutely everybody has with their turkey for Christmas dinner, along with all the other things?
I don’t have a broiler feature in my current oven, either, but usually I’ve had one. It’s a great way to cook fish fillets, and steaks if you prefer them rare. You don’t have to use any cooking fats at all if you don’t want to. Cooks will broil bones for extra flavor when making stock (I certainly would; baking would do, but it takes longer), and broiling vegetables is a popular method these days because of how the process is so good at giving you those tasty caramelized bits, and in a jiffy. Given a choice I would prefer to give oxtails a quick run under the broiler, rather than sear them with oil in a pan, prior to making soup.
The only downside to broiling is that you MUST pay attention. You can’t walk away for a chat when broiling something, otherwise it’s likely to burn.
Here’s a pic of an oven’s built-in broiler, here using an element rather than flames:
Notice the proximity of the steak to the heat source. Clearly, this isn’t baking. It’s more like cooking closely over hot coals, but flipped around. In some professional kitchens they’ll have dedicated broiler ovens called salamanders. Since broiling is a proximity thing there’s not much vertical space in them - about like what you see in the pic - but laterally some of them can be quite long to accommodate high order volume. Salamanders usually run nonstop during working hours, especially if the menu calls for their frequent use.
There are also smaller, household-sized broiler ovens - like a mini salamander - to be had if your regular oven doesn’t have that feature, but that means you have to have the counter space for one, and I don’t. So either way, no broiling for me.
In the States you’ll often hear “broiling” as a metaphor or a descriptor, especially during very hot weather: “How’re you doing out there?” “I’m broiling to death, but I’ll manage.” Or we might refer to a broiling hot sun, “broiling hot” being a stock phrase. Stuff like that. The word is all about intense, sizzling heat. We could just as well, and do, also say “baking”, “boiling”, “cooking”, “roasting”, and the like, but at least where I live, “broiling” seems to be a very, if not the most, common word in terms of hot weather and the suffering it causes.
I’ve never heard of an oven without the broiler. I guess it is something I’ll need to check the specs on if I buy a new stove. Everybody’s trying to shave off features.
The life expectancy of stoves has gone down. In the past 15 years I’ve had three “die of old age” according to the repair guys. I grew up with a stove that lasted 30 years. Even when my folks replaced it it was because my mom was tired of the look of it and wanted electronic ignition instead of pilot lights. And my early adult years were spent in various apartments with stoves older than I was.
I seldom have used a broiler, but when I want one, I really want one.
What you call a broiler looks like what I call a grill. A grill is considered a normal part of a cooker in this country. The way we use a grill seems to match the way you use a broiler.