“Pig Fingers” is a deliciously old-fashioned dish that has been around in some form since forever, apparently. While you may find various other versions online, this one is an original, an old farmhouse classic, dating back to that long ago time before the internet was invented.
The following recipe was faithfully copied from a yellowed, handwritten index card that has been carefully kept in an decoupaged wooden recipe box for over 30 years. It was given to us back in the 1970s by the daughter of a certain Mrs. Muirhead whose family operated a thriving pig farm in Indiana. If anyone knew their pork, we figured, she did.
This recipe has passed the test of time again and again, from holiday parties to Superbowl snack buffets to wedding receptions where the groom spent more time with his mitts in the “fingers” than he did with the bride (fortunately, she understood her man and they’re still together). Needless to say, it’s a real crowd-pleaser.
“Pig fingers” get their name from a double-helping of pork, in the form of both ham and ground pork, that goes into the mix, and from the finger-like shapes into which they’re molded. With a little ground beef or veal added to the blend, they’re really something of a cross between a meatball, a sausage and a miniature meatloaf. What’s not to love about that?
We’ve made very few changes to Mrs. Muirhead’s original recipe, adding only one new twist – a second, deliciously sweet & spicy glaze made with real maple syrup and our favorite hot pepper sauce, BLiS Blast. Both glazes are equally good, so why choose between them when you can have both?
Pig Fingers with Spicy Maple Syrup & Smoked Sugar-Mustard Glazes
While you may find versions of this recipe called “Ham Fingers,” we prefer the name by which we’ve come to know and love these tasty little treats.
Pig Fingers
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ lb ham
- ¾ lb ground pork
- ¾ lb ground bison or beef
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups fine bread or cracker crumbs
- 1½ cups milk
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Spicy Maple Syrup & Smoked Sugar-Mustard Glazes (see below)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grind the ham coarsely in a meat grinder or food processor. Do not over-process. Mix the ham with the ground pork and beef. Add the eggs, milk, breadcrumbs and black pepper. Mix gently, but thoroughly.
Shape the meat mixture into finger-like shapes of about 1 ½-2 tablespoons each. Divide the “fingers” between two (or more) lightly greased baking dishes at least 2 inches deep. Leave space in between “fingers” (see photos).
Pour each sauce (recipes below) over one pan of fingers. Bake for 75 to 90 minutes, turning once halfway, until the fingers are glazed and browned. Remove the pans from the oven and allow to stand for a few minutes. The sauce may seem a little thin, but it will continue to thicken from the heat of the pan.
Pile the fingers up on serving platters, and drizzle with the remaining glaze. Serve with plenty of napkins.
Smoked Sugar-Mustard Glaze
- 6 tablespoons Bourbon Smoked Sugar
- 2 tsp dry mustard
- 3 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 cup hot water
Mix all ingredients in a small pan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.
Spicy Maple Syrup Glaze
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp Blis Blast Hot Pepper Sauce or to taste
- 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
- ½ cup hot water
Mix all ingredients together and stir until thoroughly combined.
Many of the ingredients used in this recipe, and other recipes on the Earthy Delights Blog, can be purchased online at our retail website, Earthy.com. We welcome you to visit the Earthy.com website to view our extensive selection of hard-to-find ingredients and our complete Recipe Collection of over 500 tested recipes.
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