pork roll.

so this past weekend i was in spring lake, new jersey enjoying a little getaway with some friends when i was introduced to this:

this ladies and germs, is the pork roll. if you arent familiar with it, the pork roll, or “taylor ham” as it commonly referred to as (much like how everyone calls tissues “kleenex”), is a salty pork product that apparently is only popular and available in new jersey, though i dont see why because its pretty damned good.
don’t let the name “taylor ham” fool you though, because this product is what it is: a pork roll. its mushed up pig parts spiced up and put in a casing and sold either in logs that look like liverwurst, or presliced packages (4 or 8 slices) sold in the awesome packaging i posted up top. new jersey natives had a hard time decsribing it to those of us who had never had it, saying the best comparable meat was canadian bacon, though i feel thats only because its sort of round and salty. and honestly, that would be my best decription of it: round and salty. its not as salty as bacon however, but not as bland as say, bologna, and it has a distinct flavor that i just can put my finger on.

customarily, pork roll is fried and served on a roll with egg and cheese creating one of the better breakfast sandwiches ive had in a long time. the picture on the box shows it being served on an english muffin, and apparently some schools feed it to their kids:

so of course before i left, i made it a point to buy two boxes so that i may enjoy it at home and enjoy it i did. taking a cue from the box, i bought some english muffins, eggs, and white american cheese and tried my hand at making some “THEC” (“Taylor Ham Egg and Cheese”), which topped off with some hot sauce, made for one fine sunday brunch.
so next time you’re in new jersey, make sure you stop at a deli and order a pork roll sandwich, and be prepared to add a new member to your pork family.

pork roll/taylor ham: 15 thumbs up.

for further pork roll reading:
- www.jerseyporkroll.com
- pork roll on wikipedia