After a long Friday night of partying and waking up in the morning a little more hungover than you want to admit, most people drool over the thought of a bacon, egg, and cheese (on an everything bagel, I hope). Getting to the bagel store is a task, but once you bite into that heavenly goodness, you know the trip was worth it.
But what if I told you that the entire state of New Jersey, a whole whopping 9 million people, crave a completely different breakfast sandwich? Introducing: Taylor Ham.
Is Taylor Ham A Person?
No! Whenever I bring up Taylor Ham, my non-Jersey friends always ask “who’s that?” Let’s just say if Taylor Ham was a person, I’d already be married to them. This Jersey delicacy is a breakfast meat that can be eaten alone, on a bagel, on a Kaiser roll, or even mixed into an omelet. It’s not just ham. It does have the consistency of a thick piece of ham, but it also has the greasiness and saltiness of bacon.
Since being away at college, this is what I’ve missed the most. Nothing tastes better than a Taylor ham, egg, and cheese. If you ever make it to NJ, this should be a MUST on your to-try list, and all natives will agree.
Why Have I Never Heard of It?
For some reason, Taylor Ham is only sold in New Jersey. It’s a nice Jersey perk and something we can hold over the rest of the country, but part of me wishes that everyone could experience this amazing food. The Taylor Pork Roll company was started in 1856 by Trenton, NJ native John Taylor. His name has been passed down for almost 200 years through many enjoyable breakfasts.
Since his invention, many other companies have taken on the task of recreating and producing this meat, calling it pork roll or something similar. But you definitely won’t get the same mouthwatering experience if you don’t try the original.
All of the companies that sell Taylor Ham, though, are located in New Jersey, and while they allow people to ship some for themselves, restaurants across the country have not bought it or chosen to serve it on their menus. More for us, I guess.
Wait, I’ve Definitely Heard of Pork Roll…
This is a sensitive topic. I’ve even lost friends (almost) over the debate between whether or not this is called Taylor Ham or Pork Roll. There is a significant dividing line somewhere in the middle of central Jersey where people stop calling it Taylor Ham and start calling it Pork Roll. Just another reason why North and South Jersey should be completely different states.
Technically, they are the same thing. But whether or not you call it Taylor Ham or Pork Roll completely defines who you are as a person. We take our ham very seriously on the east coast.
When the company was started, John Taylor dubbed the official name as Taylor Ham, only for it to be changed in 1906 to Taylor Pork Roll. So technically, neither North nor South Jersey is wrong, but we’ll both argue otherwise. Even our governor sides with North Jersey.
So if you ever take a journey over to the Garden State, just be aware of what hemisphere of the state you’re in before you go up to the window and order a breakfast sandwich. If you are a hater and still think Jersey stinks, you can order some online to try! Definitely worth it.