'The Pork Roll Cookbook' celebrates recipes, history of quintessential Jersey meat (2024)

'The Pork Roll Cookbook' celebrates recipes, history of quintessential Jersey meat (1)

New Jersey's love affair with pork roll began more than a century and a half ago, and shows no signs of letting up.

If anything, the passion for this mildly spiced pork product continues to grow dramatically, and has reached the point where it earned its own annual festival, and now its own cookbook.

"The Pork Roll Cookbook" (Cider Mill Press, $16.95) by Times of Trenton writer Jenna Pizzi with recipes contributed by me and several local chefs, rolled off the presses late last month. It is being sold online and through retailers including Barnes & Noble and WalMart.

The book details the history of pork roll, which originated in Trenton and continues to be made there by Taylor Provision Company and Case's Pork Roll, its availability in the Mid-Atlantic States, and its status as the quintessential Jersey food.

Pizzi, who covers Trenton for The Times of Trenton, said writing the text for the book was a lot of fun. "I got to talk to a lot of good people who are enthusiastic about pork roll."

Nostalgia plays a large part in that enthusiasm, she said. "It has to remind people of something," she said. "They have a childhood attachment to it."

A Jersey girl herself, Pizzi said she only occasionally ate pork roll while growing up, but has learned to appreciate it since writing the book.

Pizzi writes extensively about the origin of pork roll in a time before refrigeration, and the career of John Taylor, who is credited with creating the original recipe. What is not revealed in the book is the recipe for pork roll itself, which both Taylor and Case's keep tightly under wraps. A combination of pork and secret spices, it is hickory-smoked for added flavor. A two-ounce portion of Taylor pork roll has 180 calories, with 140 of those from fat. A preserved meat, it has a sodium content of 580 mg per serving.

The tried-and-true way of eating pork roll is fried, served on a roll with cheese melted on top, and maybe an egg if it's breakfast time. But ever since the first pork roll was sold, fans have been finding other ways to use their favorite meat.

Trenton-Style Spaghetti a la Carbonara

Serves 4 to 6

Randy Forrester, chef de cuisine at the Brothers Moon Restaurant, created this Jersey-style version of a traditional Italian favorite.

1 pound spaghetti
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces pork roll, frozen and then grated, or cut into 1/8-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (3 ounces), plus more for serving
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until just al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, cheese and reserved cooking water.

3. In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add half of the pork roll and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until crisp, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 1 minute.

4. Add the hot spaghetti to the skillet. Pull the skillet off the heat, tossing, until coated. Slowly add the reserved pasta cooking water, beaten egg yolks and cheese. Toss until coated with a creamy sauce, about 1 minute. Add the nutmeg; season with pepper. Transfer to bowls, top with the remaining grated pork roll and serve, passing extra Parmesan.

Pork Roll Monte Cristo Sandwich

Makes 6 sandwiches

The monte cristo is a variation of the French croque-monsieur, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. This is yet another variation, shared by Will Mooney, executive chef and owner of the Brothers Moon Restaurant.

3 tablespoons butter
12 slices pork roll
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
6 slices Muenster cheese, cut in half
12 slices white bread

1. Cook pork roll slices until golden brown. Layer cheese and pork roll on 6 slices bread; cover with remaining slices bread.

2. In bowl, mix eggs and milk; quickly dip both sides of sandwiches into egg mixture. On griddle or in skillet, saute sandwiches in butter over medium heat until cheese is melted and both sides are browned.

In the kitchen farm

If you have always wanted to try your hand at churning butter or gathering eggs from a henhouse, you could make your way to Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell Township on Saturday for the annual "Winter Kitchen" event.

Visitors will be invited into the circa 1900 farmhouse kitchen, where they can help with the chores of preparing foods and baking using a wood-burning stove. The hands-on event will include making noontime "dinner" recipes for the help using original recipes from the Hopewell Valley area.

Winter Kitchen is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the farm, located outside Lambertville. See the website howellfarm.org for information.

Gourmet foods in Somerset

More than 25 gourmet food artisans will be among the 250 participants at the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival March 13 to 15 at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset.

Purveyors will offer handmade chocolates, wine-based products, nuts, waffles, pickles, salsas, seafood and cheese, to name a few. For information see the website sugarloafcrafts.com/festivals/somerset/spring/

Bacon and beer in Bucks

Good news for bacon lovers - and there are many - the Bucks Bacon & Beer event is back.

Dozens of bacon purveyors will offer their wares from noon to 4 p.m. March 22 at the event at Triumph Brewing Company in New Hope, Pa.

There will be butchers, charcuteriers, small farmers, artisanal bacon and sausage producers, local cheesemakers and artisanal food producers bacon in ways you probably never imagined.

Triumph will offer a specially brewed Rauchbier "smoked" beer for the occasion. Admission includes two pints of Triumph beer, a commemorative glass and all the bacon you can eat.

Local participants include Brick Farm Market in Hopewell Borough, which will serve samples of charcuterie and bacon from pasture-raised pigs; Cherry Grove Dairy Farm & Creamery in Lawrence, which will offer artisanal cheese and prok products, and Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse of Milford, which will serve artisanal cheese and wood-fired oven bread.

See the buckscountytaste.com website for information and tickets, which are $40 per person for noon entry, and $35 per person for 2 p.m. entry. You must be 21 years or older to attend.

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'The Pork Roll Cookbook' celebrates recipes, history of quintessential Jersey meat (2024)

FAQs

What is the history of pork roll? ›

The History

Pork Roll / Taylor Ham is a cured meat that was first created in 1856 by twenty-year-old John Taylor, who would go on to become a State Senator and businessman based in Trenton, NJ.

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Why is pork roll only in New Jersey? ›

The city of Trenton, New Jersey's capital and the spiritual epicenter of modern pork roll-dom, is frequently earmarked as the first place a pork roll prototype appeared, stowed in Continental soldiers' satchels while they dusted up Hessians at the Battle of Trenton in 1776.

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What is a Jersey Shore pork roll? ›

Pork roll is a processed meat commonly available in New Jersey and neighboring states. It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Trenton, and sold as "Taylor's Prepared Ham" until 1906.

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Is pork roll a Pennsylvania thing? ›

The name “pork roll” is typically used to refer to the product in the Philadelphia area and in South Jersey. In the northern part of New Jersey, it's more commonly called Taylor ham.

Is pork roll basically bologna? ›

The closest comparison point I can find for pork roll is bologna. It's not exactly like that in terms of flavor or texture, but it is a processed, often pre-sliced pork product that you could put on a sandwich or have with your breakfast.

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Why is New Jersey so famous? ›

New Jersey is world famous for its boardwalk beaches and Atlantic City casinos. These main attractions help the city draw 27 million tourists every year.

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Is pork roll processed meat? ›

Pork roll, in essence, is a processed meat product made from ground pork combined with various spices and flavorings. It's then formed into a cylindrical shape and typically sliced before cooking.

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What does jersey pork roll taste like? ›

The New Jersey entity that goes by the moniker pork roll or Taylor ham is neither roll nor ham. Locals say it's more like sausage—though it tastes unlike any other breakfast meat—and definitely better than Spam.

Is pork roll like scrapple? ›

If you think about it, though, the two are like distant cousins. After all, the same things go into making both meats. To keep it simple, both pork roll and scrapple are made by combining all the left-over parts of the pig. I just prefer scrapple over pork roll because it's harder to make at home.

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Is Taylor Ham the same as Canadian bacon? ›

For the most part, the southern part of NJ calls it pork roll. Northerners tend to call this taylor ham and many people outside of the state refer to it as Canadian bacon.

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Is pork roll similar to Spam? ›

I finally made the trek out there this past weekend, when I discovered that pork roll is essentially really good-tasting round Spam. Not that that's a bad thing. Super salty, porky, fatty, and heavily spiced with the somewhat spongy but not unpleasant texture of bologna that's been slightly inflated.

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Why did Taylor ham change their name? ›

Because it is not technically ham, Taylor Ham got a name change to “pork roll” in 1906 when the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 went into effect. Although its inventor, John Taylor, tried to trademark the name “Pork Roll,” he was denied in 1910, and competitors began popping up from there on out.

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Are pork roll and Taylor ham the same thing? ›

John Taylor created pork roll in Trenton, New Jersey. He originally sold his pork product under the name Taylor Ham, which is what North Jersey still calls it today. However, Taylor wasn't the only one making pork roll.

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Is pork roll the same as Spam? ›

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What is the history of pork? ›

The pig dates back 40 million years to fossils, which indicates that wild pig-like animals roamed forests and swamps in Europe and Asia. By 4900 B.C., pigs were domesticated in China, and by 1500 B.C., they were being raised in Europe.

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Is there a difference between Taylor ham and pork roll? ›

John Taylor of Trenton didn't invent pork roll until 1856. He first called it Taylor ham, but federal legislation declared that ham is a specific cut of pork. Taylor changed the name to pork roll in 1906, and while the original name stuck in the northern part of the state, folks further south still call it pork roll.

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Where do they say pork roll? ›

People from South Jersey tend to call it pork roll, while north New Jerseyans lean Taylor ham. In the interview, DeVito also describes his accent as "Jersey, very Jersey, South Jersey." "I was born in, it's kind of like a Philly, Baltimore thingy, but it's Jersey.