Wales’ best-known butcher selling DIY Christmas pigs in blankets at Tesco

DIY Pigs in Blankets for Christmas have hit supermarket shelves thanks to a deal between Wales’s best-known butcher and Tesco.

The succulent combination of sausages wrapped in streaky bacon is a highlight of the festive feast and now making your own has never been simpler.

Edwards the Welsh Butcher of Conwy has come up with an easy to assemble kit of ten premium quality tasty pork sausages and ten slices of streaky bacon – and the marriage of the two is made in heaven, according to the firm’s founder and chairman, Ieuan Edwards.

He has even given a video masterclass in how to make them and 7,000 packs of the toothsome treat will be on Tesco supermarket shelves across Wales and the border counties for this Christmas.

Ieuan Edwards explained: “For a butcher to make ready to cook pigs in blankets is very labour intensive but it’s great to get everyone involved in preparing Christmas dinner.

“So we came up with this do-it-yourself kit of a string of ten cocktail sausages and ten slices of streaky bacon.

“The fun is in putting them together – all you need is a pair of scissors to snip the string of sausages, roll them up in the slices of bacon, place them seam side down on a roasting tray and pop them in the oven for perfect Pigs in Blankets.

“It’s exclusive to Tesco and they’re tasty, made from top quality ingredients, and easy to assemble and cook.

“It’s about making food fun and getting everyone involved because younger members of the family can help.”

‘Quick’

The sausages are made from premium pork, the bacon is all Red Tractor-assured and it is all gluten-free and has been created by Product Development Manager Natalie Bestwick and her team at Edwards the Welsh Butcher.

She said: “Our consumers like to be creative, particularly as part of Christmas, but convenience and ease of use is still key.

“For a business making pigs in blankets is very labour intensive and demand outstrips production capability but we think we’ve spotted a gap in the market.

“We wanted to put a simple solution together to target those issues and just like the rest of our range it has to have the signature Edwards flavour and quality our brand is famous for.

“As a growing business with a newly expanded production facility, we can be quite reactive and bring solutions to the market quickly, which in this case we were able to do for one of our biggest customers, Tesco.

“Our Wrap your own Pigs in Blankets Kit complements our existing Great Taste award-winning Honey and Rosemary Pork Chipolatas wrapped in Oak Smoked Streaky Bacon which we sell all year round through the online retailer Ocado.”

The firm’s founder, Ieuan Edwards began his business in 1983 on Conwy High Street, where the firm still has a shop in addition to their headquarters just outside the town.

Since 2004 their products have been stocked by all the major supermarkets in Wales and increasingly into England as well while the original butcher’s shop has been crowned Best Butchers Shop in the UK and is a three-time winner of Best Butchers Shop in Wales.

For more on Edwards the Welsh Butcher go to their website.