Where to buy pork roll

In New Jersey it is everywhere. Once you cross the state line, it gets interesting. Here is how to keep yourself supplied.

If you are in (or near) New Jersey

This is the easy case. Nearly every supermarket in the state carries it: look in the deli case or the packaged breakfast-meat section for the two big names, Taylor and Case’s. Local butchers and Italian delis almost always have it too. If you would rather someone else do the frying, the diners and delis on the map have you covered.

If you have moved away

This site exists mostly for you. Pork roll does not travel the way it should, and finding it outside the tri-state area can take some hunting. A few angles that work:

• Check the map. Use the store filter to see shops that sell it near you. Real people have pinned specialty grocers, butchers, and East Coast delis that stock it in cities all over the country. If you find one we are missing, add it.
• Ask the deli counter.Italian delis, “New York” or “Jersey” style delis, and gourmet grocers with an East Coast section will sometimes carry it or order it for you.
• Transplant groups.A quick post in a local “ex-New Jersey” group usually surfaces the one store in town that has it. (Then pin it on the map for the next person.)

Order it online

When local options run dry, the manufacturers and a handful of specialty shippers will send it frozen straight to your door, anywhere in the country. Search for the Trenton makers (Taylor and Case’s) and the mail-order pork roll shops; several ship nationwide, including to Alaska and Hawaii. It is not the cheapest way to eat breakfast, but it beats a flight home for a sandwich.

Then cook it right

Once you are stocked, do not undo all that effort with a sad curled-up slice. Read how to cook it (the notch trick matters), and if you are still wondering why half the internet calls it Taylor ham, here is the debate.