Sorry, Garden State, But Scrapple Is Far Superior To Pork Roll (2024)

It's National Scrapple Day, Jersey!

I know most people reading this are probably scratching their heads if they hail from the Garden State. Even I have to admit, my love of scrapple isn't necessarily appreciated here in South Jersey like it is in, say, the Philly suburbs.

Most Jersey people prefer pork roll. Hey, I get it. It's basically a sacrilege to claim any distaste towards the Garden State's most popular breakfast meat. Here's the thing, though.... I don't dislike pork roll.

Quite the contrary, actually.

I happen to LOVE pork roll sandwiches. You'll never see me order a breakfast sandwich with scrapple on it. You won't, however, catch me ordering my eggs with a side of pork roll out at a diner, either. When it comes to pork roll, I prefer to make it at home. If I'm out to breakfast, I'll be ordering a side of scrapple.

What makes scrapple so appealing?

Well, some would say nothing. It looks, quite frankly, like a roof shingle. Whatever they do at NJ diners to give it that taste, that's what does it for me. They get it so much fluffier than I ever can at home, too.

But, why scrapple over pork roll?

I know, it's probably weird to hear someone who grew up in South Jersey say that. If you think about it, though, the two are like distant cousins. After all, the same things go into making both meats. To keep it simple, both pork roll and scrapple are made by combining all the left-over parts of the pig. I just prefer scrapple over pork roll because it's harder to make at home.

Now, don't get me wrong - pork roll's awesome. You'll just experience hell freezing over before I'll order it out at a restaurant. You can probably thank my Philly-born-and-raised parents for that.

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