Fresh Jersey Pork Rolls all nestled up and ready for LUNCH.
How do you feel about pork roll? If you come to LUNCH., and you order the Jersey Shore, you’ll get a healthy dose of it living in harmony with 2 eggs your way, melted provolone cheese, a hunk of fresh tomato, and a kaiser roll. It’s a popular sandwich at our place, but many folks that order it are meeting the oink roll for the first time. We thought we’d put together a little history, in the hopes of creating more pork roll love around the world.
Pork Roll is most commonly available around Jersey and select places around Philly. It was created in 1856 by John Taylor in New Jersey, and is thus still referred to as Taylor Ham, though many other manufactures turn out their own version. This wonder product can be likened to chopped ham, bologna, SPAM, salami. You get the idea. It’s a ham product, squished together into a roll; spongy, flavorful, and perfect for the morning after too many drinks or when your next physical is 364 days away.
Typically, pork roll is packaged in, well, a roll. The lucky owner of said roll slices off a few pieces, fries them up, and pairs them with anything ham or other breakfast meat would naturally go with. According to Wikipedia, a common practice is to slice three 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 or Pac-Man bacon.
We love the texture, we love the spiced flavor, the just-crisped edges when it is cooked just right. We love that we can find it in dives, and that there is absolutely zero things pretentious about pork roll. It’s just really good.
Our owner, Rick Lyons, recently made a trip to Jersey, and brought back authentic, totally Jersey Pork Roll to serve with love. Stop by for Jersey Shore, or to special order another breakfast sandwich your way! Happy Monday, little piggies.
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