Take a map of Ohio and put a pin in the middle of Cincinnati. Next, draw a circle that encompasses a 25-mile radius around that pin. What you have within that circle is about 90 percent of the population who knows what goetta sausage is. That may not seem like much, but the people within that radius love goetta. They love it so much that they tell their friends and family from out of state about it. They love it so much that they’ll eat it in a variety of forms and flavors. And when there is a festival dedicated to this specialty sausage, they come by the hundreds of thousands to celebrate a Cincinnati specialty.
Glier’s Meats may be headquartered in Covington, Ky., just across the Ohio River from the city formerly known as Porkopolis, but it’s just as much of a Cincinnati institution as its famous products. The company got its start in 1946, and while it makes a variety of products, from hams to brats and metts, goetta is the most renowned of its products. Glier’s offers it in chubs, slices, slabs and links, in original, hot, turkey and bacon varieties. All total, there are about 10 goetta products that Glier’s produces regularly.