meatn3
(equal opportunity eater in the NC Triangle)
1
I’ve heard mention of this over the years. Even saw it when I was in Southern Maine this past summer but had no space in my cooler…
Just spotted a smallish sized Taylor ham at a new to the area grocery - Sprouts. It seems to be a regional item that hasn’t migrated South before.
Would love some ideas of how to enjoy this! Otherwise I might buy it with good intentions and then it disappears in the murky recesses of my overloaded fridge…
I have no answers…but my local FB group is full of posts from Jersey people who adore the stuff…to the level of talking about what an aeful place we live because they cant find it.
It is mostly a breakfast meat served as a side like bacon or sausage. Most popular use is for a Pork Roll, Egg (fried) and Cheese sandwich served on a hard roll. At home I’ll routinely make grilled pork roll egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast on white bread in a pan just like any grilled cheese.
It’s primarily a ham product and I have used it in many different capacities besides breakfast foods over the years. Here in NJ they have spicy pork roll which I really like and I’ve used it with collard greens, chicken cordon blu’ and even topping on pizza.
I think pork roll is what you’d get if Spam and Salami made a baby. It’s not quite as uniform and wet as a bologna, and is a bit denser. But like spam and salami you still see those specs of pork and fat in it.
Aside from the usual, I like to put it in my budae chigae, Korean army base soup/stew.
4 Likes
meatn3
(equal opportunity eater in the NC Triangle)
8
I think that’s why I “recognized” it! After hearing about it over the years it stood out from the other offerings in the refrigerated section.
meatn3
(equal opportunity eater in the NC Triangle)
9
Do you cook the meat before it goes between the bread? I guess I’m trying to understand if this is basically a cold cut or if it is more like an uncured sausage. Either way it sounds tasty!
Yes, I will brown it on each side maybe 3 mins each side on a heated pan. I’m fairly sure you can eat it “raw”, uncooked, although I have never tried it that way. Even if stuffing it in chicken I will brown it first.
1 Like
meatn3
(equal opportunity eater in the NC Triangle)
11
Thank you! I’ll buy some next trip to that grocery.
So budae chigae is one of those insane food creations that happen when cultures and necessities collide. It’s basically a spicy korean stew/soup, but made with canned American goods.
So the base of the dish will have things like Korean chili paste, kimchi, some vegs and tofu, but on top of that you add American Classics like spam/ham/hot dogs, American cheese, and baked beans.
Legend has it that this came to be during post war Korea with Koreans using handouts from US military as replacement items in traditional Korean dishes.
It is usually cooked at the table with some kind of noodles usually finding their way in.
For some reason, Taylor ham is just the perfect hammy meat for this dish. I’ve been eating it with spam and hot dogs for years, but none of them can compete with the flavor and texture of Taylor.
BTW not sure what kind of Asian/Korean pantry you have, but the chili paste is totally optional, some people even insist it doesn’t belong in dishes like this.