Taylor Pork Roll advice please

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
1

As a young NYC kid I spent many summers on my aunt and uncle’s farm near Freehold, NJ. The other day, on a visit to a local meat market, here in SoCal, I found and bought a small Taylor Pork Roll. I guess it was a bit of nostalgia at Thanksgiving.

So…… I cut a few slices today and fried them up for a sandwich. I can’t say I’m a fan but I don’t want to give up yet. My first reaction was that it’s kindof like Spam. Having some sensitivity to fatty foods, I’m approaching other ideas cautiously. Calling it “ham” doesn’t seem very truthful; at least not using the ham I’m used to as a comparison.

What else can I do with it? I’d like to tell my Jersey cousins I’m enjoying it but, so far, not.

2

Could you chop it finely and use it in fried rice?

3

Did you start with an egg and cheese? I’d say that plus ketchup will cut the fat a bit (like the difference between straight sausage and a sausage egg and cheese).

Paging @gcaggiano, @NotJrvedivici, and the rest of the NJ crew!

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4

Cheese, no egg.

5

Try an egg and pork roll sandwich on a soft-ish roll (Kaiser or similar) that can absorb the juices / fat. There would be ketchup on mine for sure.

6

I’m chuckling because this is starting to sound like trying to cover up/mask an underlying fat bomb. The color and texture of the pork roll seems to be mostly pork fat. I think I should admit that I never did eat this stuff as a kid; just know it’s special to my Jersey family. What is it made up of?

7

Haha. Well I’m just thinking of it as the meat component of an egg sandwich. Re fat, there’s lots of similar fat bombs :joy:

But also, it’s okay just not to like it :rofl:

8

Here’s a clue:

IMG_9812
IMG_9812750×1334 114 KB

I want to be clear that I’m not disparaging this beloved local product. I just want to understand it.

9

I scrolled past — I’m not reading nutrition facts for bacon and sausage either :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Not health foods!

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10

Just as a point of reference, that is about 1/3 Fat which is the same as Baloney, Mortadella, Bratwurst etc… And some commercially made Sausage Products are as high as 50%!!

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11

Here are some ideas, not mine obviously.
Liked it as a Kid but not as an Adult, kind of like tasting SpaghettiOs when you an Adult. :nauseated_face:

Even more ideas here

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12

I’ve only had/made pork roll once in my life, and it was at 3 AM. Needless to say, I was not in a condition to remember what exactly was on it!

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13

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

14

Did you cook it really well? It should have crispy brown edges, and best to cut three slits (like a peace sign that doesnt meet in the middle) so it cooks flat and the fats don’t pool. It also needs to be cut fairly thinly - just a little fatter than a slice of cheese product wrapped individually in plastic

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15

Yes to all of that, except maybe I could have fried it longer. It did have crisp edges and browned areas. I’ll try again soon, but it may just be the high fat content I’m not used to, though I do eat hot dogs (beef) frequently. The pork roll seems to be mostly fat.