Taylor Ham

Taylor Ham is a type of sausage-like pork product made from coarsely ground pork shoulder, developed by John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey late in the 19th century. It is often called pork roll due to the "roll" or tube-like sack in which it is traditionally packaged. In Trenton, Taylor Ham and its competitors were commonly referred to as "prepared ham".

"Taylor" is the brand name for pork roll made by Taylor Provisions, Inc., of Trenton. Taylor also manufactures pork roll under the "Trenton" brand. "Trenton by Taylor" has been an advertiser on the outfield wall at Mercer County Waterfront Park in Trenton since it opened in 1994. Other companies making pork roll include crosstown rival Case Pork Roll Company, as well as Kohler Provisions and Loeffler Gourmet. Hatfield Quality Meats of Hatfield, Pennsylvania and Alderfer Premium Meats of Harleysville, Pennsylvania also produces their own version.

The product is generally eaten sliced and grilled, like Canadian bacon, but is also known to be fried. A common practice is to slice four cuts from the outer edges inwards about 3/4 inch to an inch towards the center, evenly spaced around the circumference. These cuts prevent the pork roll from curling up in the middle, which causes it to cook unevenly. With these cuts, the cooked slices have become known by many different names such as fireman's badges (due to the similarity to the Maltese cross), pac-man meat, and notch meat. Fact|date=August 2007

Pork roll generally comes in one-, three-, and six-pound sizes, as well as six-ounce boxes containing eight single-thickness slices or four double-thickness slices. The product is seldom available for retail or restaurant sale outside of New Jersey and adjoining areas like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. However, it is available as far South as Key West, Florida through Publix's supermarkets, in Texas at HEB Central Markets, in Colorado at Albertsons and KING SOOPERS, in Minnesota at Byerly’s, In Brookfield (Milwaukee), Wisconsin at [http://www.thefreshmarket.com The Fresh Market] , in Virginia at Safeway and Shopper’s Food Warehouse, in Maryland at Giant Food Stores, in Oregon (Portland) at [http://zupans.com/ Zupans] , in Washington (Seattle) at De Laurenti’s, at [http://www.fredmeyer.com/ Fred Meyer] in Vancouver, WA, and in the Phoenix area at A.J.'s Fine Foods, a division of Basha's. It is also available at Wegman’s stores throughout the Northeast. In addition, there are marketers selling pork roll on the internet and shipping it around the United States.

Uses in sandwiches

Known as the 'Jersey Breakfast', [cite web |title=Justin's Corner Cafe & Caterers Simply Great Food Menu |url=http://internetdiners.com/justincorner/regular/ |accessmonthday=November 8 |accessyear=2007 ] [cite web |title=Jersey Dogs Menu |author=Wilson, Mike |url=http://www.sierrastar.com/images/2007/MM07/MM07_p09_JerseyDogs.pdf |accessmonthday=November 8 |accessyear=2007 ] [cite web |title=The Chef's Table Menu |url=http://thechefstableofnj.com/CAFEMENU.pdf |accessmonthday=November 8 |accessyear=2007 ] the Taylor Ham, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich is a staple of many delis, diners, and bakeries in New Jersey.

"Taylor Ham , Egg and Cheese" Is commonly referred to as a "THEC" with "SPK" (Salt Pepper and Ketchup). Also known as a "PEC" (pork roll, egg, cheese). Usually served on a Kaiser Roll. Fact|August 8, 2008|date=August 2008

Popular culture

*Taylor ham is mentioned by George Carlin's character as a pork roll in Kevin Smith's movie "Jersey Girl".
*"Taylor Ham and Egg" sandwich is a favorite breakfast sandwich of "The Howard Stern Show"'s co-host Artie Lange.
*The second album by the band Ween known as The Pod features numerous references to 'Pork Roll Egg and Cheese' including the product's theme song, "Pork Roll Egg and Cheese."
*Sometimes known as "Pac-Man bacon" due to its likeness to the video game character Pac-Man when only one radial cut is made.Fact|date=May 2008
*When New Jersey native Danny Kass won the Silver Medal for snowboarding in the 2002 Olympics, Gold medallist Ross Powers exclaimed in front of the media that "Danny Kass is the 2nd best thing ever to come out of New Jersey". When a reporter asked what the first was he responded "Taylor Ham dude!".
*W.E.B. Griffin mentions Taylor ham in his Badge of Honor series of novels, set in Philadelphia.
*A Jersey 'Slider' is mentioned by Wendy Venturini on Nascar Raceday (SPEED-TV) at Dover Del. in June 2005
*In May 2008, the Lakewood BlueClaws minor league baseball team in New Jersey began racing gigantic Pork Roll, Egg & Cheese characters as an in-game promotion on the field.
*Jersey Shore Roller Girls refer to their new skaters (fresh meat) as Pork Rollers.

References

External links

* [http://nsjersey.blogspot.com/2007/12/taylor-ham-pork-roll-and-more_07.html NJ documentary - John Taylor]