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Emily Hawkes / Food Styling: Lauren LaPenna / Set Designer: Karin Olsen
When it comes to New Jerseyans, there are a few things we hold sacred—Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Martha Stewart, our beaches, our opinions, and perhaps most of all, our food culture and history. Whether it’s the restaurants, top-notch marinara sauce, bagels, pizza, or ice cream, New Jersey residents pride themselves on top-quality grub and take all things eating, cooking, and food very seriously. We aren’t called the “Diner Capital of the World” for nothing.
While our love and loyalty to our home state undoubtedly unite us, there is one deep, stubborn, generations-long line that has been drawn in the sand between its north and south regions. Of course, it’s related to food, and it surrounds one of our specialties: breakfast sandwiches. They’re a ritual here. We eat them on Sunday mornings, throughout the summer before hitting the beach, during blizzards to stay warm, as medicine when we’re hungover, and when we pop by a deli or bagel store for a quick breakfast we know will hit the spot.
Our love of breakfast sandwiches isn’t the source of division. It’s what we choose to call the delicious processed meat inside those breakfast sandwiches: Taylor ham or pork roll. “If there’s one thing that could start a civil war in NJ, it’s arguing over what this is called,” states a partisan user on Reddit.
The Great Divide: North Jersey vs. South Jersey
If you ask my father, a native New Jerseyan raised in Hoboken, what this meat is called, he will abruptly reply, “Get outta here. What is this pork roll nonsense? It’s Taylor ham!” Similarly, North Jersey native Juliet recalls, “Growing up, my dad called it Taylor ham. That’s it. There’s nothing else to call it.”
One Reddit user, who we can only assume is from northern New Jersey, says, “People from North Jersey generally call it Taylor ham, while heathens from the south call it pork roll.” Hey, I told you we take our opinions seriously. Aggression aside, this statement bears out, at least according to a poll I posted on my Instagram account. I asked people where they are from and what they call this meat: 100 percent of Taylor ham voters said they were from North New Jersey, while 97 percent of pork roll voters came from South and Central Jersey (yes, central New Jersey does exist, but that’s a different hot topic for another day). The remaining 3 percent of pork roll voters were Philly residents, located just next door to southern New Jersey.
Even the pros agree. “It’s a very fine line in Jersey where the pork roll/Taylor ham (demilitarized zone) is, and it almost divides our state perfectly in half,” John Yarusi, owner of Johnny’s Pork Roll and Coffee Too! food trucks and Red Bank restaurant, told the “Asbury Park Press” in 2023. “If I had to peg that line, it’s the southern border of Middlesex County and the northern border of Mercer County.” Enough said.
How It All Started: The History of an Iconic Meat
In 1856, businessman and politician John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey, invented a processed meat that he originally called “Taylor ham.” However, the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act stipulates that processed meats, such as this, are not legally permitted to be referred to as “ham.” So, Taylor changed the name to pork roll in 1906. Over time, people in northern Jersey continued to refer to the brand’s original identity, Taylor ham, while those in the southern region adapted to its new name, pork roll. This divide was reinforced as competing brands gained traction in southern New Jersey, where “pork roll” became the more widely distributed and recognized term. And so, the divide began.
What we do know is that this iconic Jersey-processed pork product comes in cylinders like Spam comes in tins. Whether it’s on a parkway diner or local deli menu up north, or a beachside cafe or food truck menu down south, it’s sliced, grilled, or fried, and then paired with a perfectly fried egg and melty yellow American cheese on a tender, housemade roll.
There are two ways to cook up the meat, although there seems to be no regional divide here, just one of personal preference: You can go with slits along the edges of the slice, or "au naturel." With slits, the meat will flatten, and without, you’ll wind up with pepperoni cup-style slices. Whether you add slits or not, a proper Jersey breakfast sandwich requires at least two slices of the meat, and it must be pan- or griddle-fried over medium-high heat so the flavorful fat can render as the edges crisp up.
Becky, a lifelong New Jersey resident, suggests “four small slices on the edges,” and then cooking the meat “until the outer ring is crispy.” Another resident agrees, adding that it has to be a “pan fry, with three snips around the edges so it stays flat.” On the other hand, omitting the slits allows the melty cheese and yolk to nestle into the cupped shape of the meat. I’m a three-slits-for-frying girl, but if you're asking me, you can’t go wrong with either option!
Another pro tip: When you are asked about adding “SPK” to your breakfast sandwich, it means “salt, pepper, ketchup,” and almost anyone from New Jersey will recommend opting in for your order. It’s the trademark cherry on top of any quintessential Jersey breakfast sandwich. With the addition of SPK, you’re now an honorary Jersey foodie no matter where you’ve come from!
Amanda Suarez
Is There an End in Sight?
In short, no. One thing about New Jerseyans is that we don’t back down. Others may call it stubborn, but we prefer the term “Jersey strong.” Whether it’s music, sports, beaches, or breakfast meat, we remain committed to our stances.
Lauren, a North Jersey native with family roots in the northern region of the Garden State says, “The reason it’s Taylor ham and not pork roll is because we say so. We may be wrong (we’re not), but we’re taking it to the grave.”
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