Rivals Go Whole Hog to Promote Trenton's Pork Roll Heritage
It's a modern-day tale of two competing pork roll festivals.
— -- If you’re not from New Jersey, then chances are you’ve never heard of pork roll. If you are from the Garden State, though, you love the pork product that’s so popular it’s practically the state’s favorite food. This past weekend, that obsession for pork roll -- sometimes known as Taylor ham -- somehow led to two competing pork roll festivals occurring at the same time on the same day in the same city.
It’s a modern-day tale of two pork rolls: Last year, T.C. Nelson and Scott Miller teamed up for the inaugural Pork Roll Festival, which featured various pork roll dishes, a recipe contest, pork roll queen competition and more at Nelson’s Trenton restaurant, Trenton Social.
In the year since, though, Nelson and Miller, who owns a production company, experienced creative differences. According to Nelson, Miller didn’t want to hold it at his restaurant again, citing space issues. Miller decided to move it to a nearby park, so Nelson created his own.
“We thought that we helped build the festival into what it was, so we decided if he was going to do it down the street, we would invite our same fans to come back and celebrate this iconic Trenton delicacy,” Nelson told ABC News.
Nelson’s Trenton Pork Roll Festival at his restaurant had around 1,000 attendees, with dishes such as pork roll doughnuts, burgers, tacos, mac and cheese and more with different music acts throughout the day.
Miller’s Pork Roll Festival in the park, on the other hand, had around 4,000 attendees, with dishes such as pork roll burgers, pierogies, mac and cheese and more with different music acts throughout the day.
So, pretty much the same, right?
“I heard they ran out of pork roll and I heard that the beer was a little warm,” Nelson said.
Miller declined to comment on their falling out, instead focusing on how his festival differed from Nelson’s.
“It went really well. We had a larger stage, up to 14 food installations with pork roll-themed menus and we had a variety of things important to our city, so we had the veteran service group raising money for themselves and some local artists selling art. We also had our annual pork roll queen contest and the awards for our annual recipe contest,” Miller told ABC News. “The Old Barracks Museum is only a block from the park, so we had re-enactors there in colonial-era costumes to promote the museum. So it was like the festival wasn’t all about pork roll; we used it effectively for cross promotion for things in our city.”
So, what is it about this pork roll that could inspire such huge events and rivalry between men?
“I would say it’s a little bit of pork heaven just shining down in Trenton. It’s kind of like a silky smooth pork byproduct, almost like a bologna. You can grill it, sauté it, fry it, you can do anything to it,” Nelson said. “I think it’s as important [to New Jersey] as Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen.”
To be exact, pork roll was invented in Trenton by John Taylor in the 1800s (hence why it’s sometimes called Taylor ham) and is a cured, smoked and pre-cooked pork product similar in taste to SPAM and texture to bologna. The two major manufacturers -- Taylor Provisions and Case Pork Roll Company, also rivals similar to Nelson and Miller -- are tight-lipped about what exactly goes into the products, but it is generally pork product with spices. The local delicacy is almost exclusively available in New Jersey and most often served as a breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese on a kaiser roll.
“The product speaks for itself. It’s one of very few things from the mid-1800s that are still made in Trenton. It was a big industrial city. Pork roll was around then and it’s still around,” Miller said. “It’s like bacon is to most people in the country, but more so here because it’s something that’s unique that people yearn for when they move out of the area and they can’t find it.”
Both Miller and Nelson plan to hold their festivals again next year, so the great pork roll rivalry will live on. Either way, the public benefits.
“Everybody had such a great time, and that’s what it’s all about: getting people to come to a city they’ve forgotten about for the most part. A lot of people have roots and history in the city of Trenton and either their parents are from here or they are it gives them a reason to come back and have some pride in it and know some of the history,” Nelson said. “To celebrate something that is still made here is important.”
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