What Is Pork Roll And Why Is It (Basically) Only Found In New Jersey

Outside of the Garden state, pork roll may sound like a typo, but it's been New Jersey's primo breakfast meat since the early 1900s. Mornings aren't complete without a pork roll, egg and cheese for most New Jerseyites, and younger generations may not even know why. Despite being delicious, pork roll only ever made it as far as Southern Pennsylvania. Not only is it impossible to find beyond the Garden State Parkway, but it's also unheard of.

Back in 1856, John Taylor changed the course of breakfast forever in Trenton. He whipped up "Taylor's Prepared Ham" in his humble kitchen facility. After curing pork and grinding it down with bold seasonings, Taylor would smoke and age the loaf before packaging it into small bags for his neighbors. Within the next few decades, John Taylor's ham became everyone's go-to breakfast meat. Technically speaking, Taylor's creation wasn't ham, as his curing process didn't meet government standards, so the salty meat was reluctantly renamed "pork roll."

Similar to bologna, pork roll is a processed pork product that's been blended with spices and shaped into a log, which is then cut into slices. The salty loaf is cured and smoked, giving it a bold yet balanced taste. It's sold both in a loaf and pre-sliced, then traditionally pan-fried to crispy excellence. Like pepperoni, pork roll slices curl up when fried, so grill cooks will make a few cuts around the edges to help the fatty slices stay flat. This pinwheel-like shape has become pork roll's signature look, giving it the perfect shape to top an egg and cheese. 

The United States has plenty of salty breakfast meats to choose from like bacon, sausage, and ham, but pork roll stands out as its very own category. It's somewhere between Canadian bacon, bologna, and Spam, but far smokier with a distinct acidity that helps balance the greasiness. Unlike America's beloved bologna, pork roll is 100% pork. Most ready-made meat products like luncheon loaves and hot dogs are processed with a variety of ground meats that come dangerously close to being described as a mystery meat, but not in Jersey.

Taylor Ham's pork roll became so embedded in the local culture that "pork roll" gradually became the generic term, enjoyed for breakfast all over the state. That's where the divide comes with the terminology; those from Southern Jersey call it pork roll while it's Taylor Ham up North. No matter what it's called, it's the state's pride and joy.