Angels On Horseback: The Vintage 3-Ingredient Appetizer Perfect For The Holidays

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

A solid holiday appetizer is worth its weight in gold. It can inspire conversation — like the vintage Jell-O and cheese app from the '50s – it will keep your guests happy and avoid peckishness while you put the finishing touches on dinner, and it's often memorable to boot. Straight from the Victorian era comes an old-school, yet perfectly hip finger food that we think will make a splash at your holiday soirée: angels on horseback. The name isn't terribly evocative of what the snack actually is, which is oysters wrapped in bacon.

Angels on horseback are deceptively simple, given how delicious and impressive they are. You simply encase oysters in a slice of bacon, skewer them with a toothpick and broil them, then adorn them with a squirt of citrus juice. From the list of oyster types, smaller varieties are preferable, since each angel is meant to be just one bite. To figure out how many to prepare for a party, assume that each guest will eat three or four.

It's believed that the unusual name for this appetizer came from the French "anges à cheval," a turn of phrase that applied to something extraordinary. Angels on horseback were considered a very classy food back in the 19th century, even though it was acknowledged that they catered to a tighter budget. What's additionally fascinating about this food is how widely and diversely it has evolved, with several types of ingredients "on horseback" that are used as party starters.

Of the mistakes that could ruin your holiday hosting experience, not planning adequately for your guests' snacking is a major one. Angels on horseback are scrumptious, not terribly hard or time-consuming to prepare, and are likely to be a crowd-pleaser. Furthermore, if you use canned oysters, none of the ingredients are difficult or expensive to source. It may interest you to know, however, that these finger foods are full of variations that could be added to your appetizer table for a more robust selection.

Devils on horseback, for instance, are prunes wrapped in bacon and broiled. Under that same name, we've also seen dates wrapped in bacon, sometimes with a schmear of blue cheese for some funk. Occasionally, prosciutto is used in lieu of bacon. In the Girl Scouts, angels on horseback evolved from cheese wrapped in bacon to hot dogs wrapped in bacon. Sometimes, this appetizer is served on a toast point for a bit of starchiness and bulk.

No matter how you customize your angels on horseback, we think that your guests will absolutely adore them. You could stick with the OG variety involving oysters, or you could prepare a whole platter of different wrapped proteins, since bacon is the common denominator. Guests can grab them easily, and they lend themself to portable, mess-free munching. It may be the case that these old-school bites are actually the perfect appetizer.