German-Style Pigs in a Blanket: Würstchen im Schlafrock

There are variations to recipes for "Pigs in a Blanket," depending upon country, but the general idea is to wrap some type of sausage with dough and then bake it. In the United States, many people, and probably most people, would think of hotdogs or cocktail sausages wrapped in a crescent roll (also known as "croissants") and baked. The Germans have a little more elaborate form, called "Würstchen im Schlafrock" (Sausages in the Robe, or also translated as, Dressing Gown), and they often use puff pastry for the wrapping, but with other ingredients, as I've shown below. I also found that instead of puff pastry, they sometimes just use bread that is rolled out, and I like it, since I don't have to run to the store for puff pastry. Mustard is a common accompaniment to sausages in German regions in Europe, but sausages with curry seasoning, called "Currywurst," which started with sausages topped with ketchup and sprinkled with curry powder, has become VERY popular in many German areas over the decades, and commercially produced ketchup with curry seasoning came to be produced,* and this "curry ketchup" is another condiment you can serve with these sausages, as well as just regular ketchup. "Schlafrock," literally "sleeping jacket," is a bit of an antiquated word nowadays in German, as both "Morgenmantel" (literally "morning cloak, coat, wrap") or "Bademantel" (literally "bathing cloak, coat, wrap") are more common, and they all simply mean, "robe."   

Good appetizer, snack or as part of a lunch.

Ingredients:

Frankfurters
pickles, sliced lengthwise
Gouda (or Muenster, Brick or Havarti)
mustard (German or Dijon mustard are more authentic, but if you only have yellow, go for it!)
white bread slices or puff pastry

Heat your oven to 400 F. Use a baking sheet (for easy clean up, cover it with foil or parchment paper). Trim the crusts off of the bread, then use a rolling pin to roll out the bread slightly, as you won't be able to get the bread off of your counter... ah, at least that's what I've heard, but the bread will become sort of like "dough." Spread a thin coating of mustard all over the bread "dough," add a hotdog or a bratwurst (not the fresh type that need to be totally cooked), add a thin lengthwise slice of pickle (or two) and sprinkle a little chopped cheese over the top of it all. Wrap the ingredients up in the bread "dough," and it might take two slices of bread to do so, but leave the ends open, not sealed (I use two bread slices to wrap the hotdogs and ingredients, then I press on these slices to secure them once I have them wrapped around. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.  

Serve with ketchup and french fries.


* For my article about "Currywurst," here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/12/currywurst-german-style-curry-sausage.html 

WORD HISTORY:
Mantle-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain, although to me it is possibly a compound, with the first part going back to Indo European "man," which meant "hand." This gave Latin "manus," with the same meaning, and with a number of derived Latin words, including some with the more figurative meaning of "to hand over to, to put into someone's hand(s) for protection;" thus, "security;" thus also, "to give protection." The second part is possibly "tela," another word of uncertain origin and meaning, although there seem to be connections of "tela" with a "loom" and "weaving," and with a woven product; thus, "cloth." Together, regardless of the previous history, Latin had "mantellus," a diminutive form, which was a "short cloak" (a woven cloth providing protection and covering) and "mantellum," meaning, "cloak." Old English borrowed a form from one or both Latin forms as "mentel," and meaning, "an outer garment with no sleeves and with a loose fit." The geological meaning of "a layer below the immediate surface of the Earth" didn't come about until the 1940s! The meaning, "the shelf or ledge over a fireplace" was also added. The spelling may well have been influenced by French, originally "mantel," or perhaps Low German or Dutch, both also "mantel." The verb form developed from the noun in the 1200s as "mantelen" ("to cover with a mantle," then later "to protect or hide by covering"). Other Germanic languages borrowed the word from Latin, and German and Low German have "Mantel" ("coat, overcoat," also at times, "covering, casing"), Dutch has "mantel" ("cloak, coat"), West Frisian has "mantel" ("cloak"), Swedish "mantel" ("jacket, cloak").