New Jersey Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese (not Taylor Ham)

It’s PORK ROLL, egg ,and cheese!

A New Jersey breakfast sandwich and hangover staple pork roll, egg, and cheese.

Let’s get one thing straight. It’s pork roll. It is not Taylor Ham. Taylor is the name of the brand, named after its creator, John Taylor. In a light defense of the cognitively impaired (and those from North Jersey), John Taylor did initially call his product Taylor Ham when he created it in 1856.  But the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 meant that his masterpiece no longer met the legal definition of ham, which honestly makes it cooler. For over 100 years, pork roll has been very punk rock and called fucking pork roll.

Seriously, it’s a New Jersey Staple.

Alas, this isn’t a blog about the fallacy of Taylor Ham. I could write a thesis arguing my point on this subject, but you came here today to learn how to cook the amazing sandwich, or PEC as we call it here in Monmouth County.

Ingredients

• Eggs- we prefer large, brown, free-range eggs but you can use whatever is available to you. We like them over medium but some prefer fried egg. To achieve the perfect fried egg add a little water to your griddle and cover!
• Pork Roll- there are a ton of brands of pork roll but we always choose Taylor Ham brand. Do not mistake this for Canadian bacon. They are nothing alike.
• Kaiser Roll- This is non-negotiable! Get a fresh kaiser roll, or a hard roll. You can find these are most grocery stores in the bakery.
• American Cheese- yes, we realize this isn’t actually cheese but this is a integral part of the sandwich. It doesn’t matter if its white or yellow it just needs to be a slice of cheese!
• Ketchup- this might seem weird to some but it really pulls this sandwich together. You can leave it off if you don’t care for it.

Can’t find pork roll in your state?

If you do not live in the New Jersey area you can live on the wild side and try to order some off of amazon! Here is a link to the brand that we prefer.

Tricks of the pork roll, egg, and cheese trade

The sandwich itself is relatively easy to make, but also easy to mess up. I prefer to use a griddle for this as it tends to have more space, but a frying pan will work just as well. 

Slice your kaiser bun in half and set aside. 

Make two slices on opposite sides of each pork roll piece, about 1/2 inch each. 

Grease your griddle with a thin layer of vegetable oil and turn to medium heat. Once it’s hot, put the pork roll. Pork roll is like a hot dog in that it’s already cooked, so all you’re really doing here is browning it and getting it crispy. The slices that you made will start to open up a little allowing the pork roll to lay flat on your griddle or pan. Cook it for about 4 – 5 minutes until it’s brown and crispy.

Cooking your eggs

Next, cook the eggs. If you’re using the same griddle or pan, you should be able to cook the eggs right in the leftover grease from the pork roll. But if needed, added a little more vegetable oil so that the eggs don’t stick. 

Crack your two eggs onto the griddle. These should be cooked over medium. After about 3 – 4 minutes cooking, the egg whites should start to firm up and solidify around the yolk. 

Once that starts to happen, use a spatula to gently break the yolks. Add your salt and pepper and flip the eggs. They’ll only need to cook for about a minute after flipping. You want the eggs to be over medium so that the yolks are cooked mostly through, but still a bit runny, but not as much as over easy or sunny side up. If you like your breakfast sammies a little sloppy, don’t crack the yolk and make your eggs over easy.

Putting it all together!

Melt a little bit of butter in a bowl and brush each side of your roll with it. Slap it on the griddle and get each side a little brown and toasty, to your own preference. 

Time to assemble the sandwich. 

Spread some ketchup on the top and bottom pieces of your sliced roll. Add your cheese to the bottom half. Next, add your two eggs. Finally, add the pork roll and close up with the top bun. Make sure to smash it down just a little to really give it that deli feel. Cut it in half and enjoy. 

If you’re really hungover, toss a few splashes of hot sauce on it.

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