Rolf’s Pork Store

Boy do I love this place. With a call ahead, you can pick up pig cheeks, belly, and any other cut imaginable. They make their own everything, including bacon, onsite, and never use nitrates. The selection of wursts will leave you drooling, and they’re always a hit at cookouts.

This is one place that I wish that I’d found years ago, but I didn’t find out about it until I met my wife in 1990. My wife is of 100% German ancestry, & she told me that her father would bring her from their home in «Guilderland», to Rolf’s when she was just a little girl to purchase Rolf’s «EXCELLENT PRODUCT’S»!!! My wife told me that one of the things that she remembered from her childhood was the wonderful aroma of the store the minute you opened the door, & she wasn’t kidding. I have had a large selection of their meats & poultry over the years, & have never once been dissatisfied, and their staff is always happy & most helpful. This is the «GO TO STORE» for all of your meat & poultry shopping, you will never walk away unhappy.

Rolf’s pork store is the very best for all your smoked meats and cold cuts. The very best in many a town or city. Bratwurst, Bologna sausages. Corned beef the best. If you like liver wurst they have s few different ones. You won’t be disappointed.

Yep, sometimes you just NEED a frankfurter. Smoke, garlic, salt, fat, pork — the 5 food groups recognized by anyone that needs a fix. Phooey on all those hot dog stands in town — there ain’t nothin’ simpler than splitting a dog lengthwise almost all the way through, frying in a tad of butter in a hot pan, popping it into a soft roll and slathering it with mustard before topping with some choice sauerkraut in the privacy of your own home so you can take big bites, roll your eyes in pleasure, finish the rest, and have yourself another. At about a dollar a pop you can even afford a beer to help savor the moment.

If you love any meat in tubular form, you must check out Rolf’s. Their brats, hot dogs (including minis!) and assorted German sausages are the best you’ll find in this area. We love Rolf’s so much it’s requested at out of town family gatherings and my dad expects a brown bag of meaty goodness from Rolf’s as a holiday gift every year. I haven’t had anything from Rolf’s that I haven’t enjoyed. Besides the delicious sausages, they also make delicious bacon, liverwurst (so bad but oh so good), smoked pork chops and German potato salad. When shopping for your next sausage fest, be sure to check out Rolf’s!

«The Annual Summer German BBQ»
by Josh K.
Planning a summer grill party? Want to impress everyone that attends?
Then take that turn off Central Avenue off the beaten track into a sketchy neighborhood to find one of Albany’s most hidden gems.
Welcome to Rolf’s Pork Store — a small long-​standing family owned and operated authentic German-​American butcher shop that serves wonderfully cured, smoked, and handmade meats and sausages as well as other Germany grocery items and paraphernalia.
Get the brats, get the wursts, get the franks, hell get the head cheese, and don’t look back (or look at your receipt).
Lookout for Obie’s deliciously spicy relish sent from Cooperstown (at a hefty price but well worth it).
Rolf’s Pork Store is my go to before any grilling occasion. They also do catering for any occasion; and amazingly, take credit cards!
We are very blessed to have such a long-​standing place in the Capital Region.
I know I take full advantage of it. You should too!

My mother has been getting meet from Rolf’s for as long as I can remember. Always good. Beats any grocery store butcher any day of the week. Support your local small businesses!

Have spent many years in Manhattan where they have everything good and believe there is no better German meat market than Rolf’s. Everything is pretty much perfect. I stop in for a bucket of smoked pork chops and fresh sauerkraut for an annual old boys ski trip. Pricey, but so very fine and always a huge hit. Even if you don’t have a particular interest in this type of food, you should experience Rolf’s at least once.

This is one of the greatest places ever. It certainly makes BBQing every single night of the summer tempting.

This place is amazing. If your are interested in something but don’t see it. Just ask. They are so nice & food is tasty. In an area that doesn’t look like much. Parking is right next to building. Bring a cooler, you’ll want to get THAT much.

Best butcher in the capital region. They have the most amazing meats you will ever eat and makes everything you can buy in the supermarket look like absolute garbage. You are dumb if you do not go here.

The only thing that is missing from Rolf’s are happy pigs.
Yes, they should be incredibly happy that their lives were given to make such delicious ham hocks, teawurst, smoked pork chops, hams, sausages, and bacon. But I do wish that Rolf’s would assist me in my goals of eating incredibly tasty things while avoiding CAFO meats.
But I can’t avoid the meaty treats from Rolf’s.
Once I tried to get a ham hock at a farmers market, direct from a pig farmer. His pigs were great, but his ham hocks sucked (and were very expensive to boot). I’d gladly pay the money, but at the end of the day it comes down to what tastes good. And inarguably what you get at Rolf’s is delicious.
It may sound a little strange, but now I’m addicted to their teawurst. It’s a blend of raw pork and beef that’s been cold smoked. In today’s day and age, something like that sounds like it should be illegal. But not at Rolf’s. So I can bring it home, spread it on some rye bread, and watch my wife avert her eyes as she tries to pretend I’m not eating something she considers to be revolting.
As far as I’m concerned that just means more teawurst for me. But it’s not for everyone.
While you are there, do not forget the little case of warm meat treats above the far right side of the counter. In there is a pink loaf of Leberkäse, which is essentially bologna. They will cut off a slice and put it on a bun for you to eat in the car on the way home. Also there are some amazing little patties called frikadellen which are a kind of pan fried meatloaf burger. On its own it’s $ 1.50. But you can walk out with a sandwich of the stuff for a paltry $ 2.50.
This place is amazing, and it’s the last of its kind for miles in every direction. If you haven’t been, you owe it to yourself to go. Get some wurst and be happy.

I raise a few pigs a year for my family and friends and have all the smoking of hams, bacon, hocks, etc and sausage done at Rolf’s. The reason? It all tastes great.
As for their own retail meat products they are, IMHO, as good as you can get. Try the German Pretzels for a nice treat.

I flew in from California on my way to the Adirondacks and bought pork belly, bacon, bockwurst, bratwurst, and liverwurst. All of it was great. The bacon and liverwurst were especially fantastic! I need to find a way to get it shipped out here!

People who have lived in Albany their entire life don’t realize that places like this don’t exist everywhere. Having moved I now realize how lucky I was to have this place. If you haven’t been go with the understanding that nothing beats the holy trinity of pork + smoke+ German food.

DO NOT PASS THIS PLACE UP DUE TO ITS LOCATION! i went to church in the neighborhood as a kid so i was a little familiar with the area. once you walk in you smell tasty, smoky, pork… its awesome. don’t limit yourself to what the eye can see, although your eyes will be overwhelmed with goodness. in the case all the sausage variations are fantastic, and the smoked liverwurst is literally my favorite thing on earth. the prepared foods from the cooler are fantastic, i love the split pea soup. you can also pick up more exotic stuff like sweetbreads, you just have to ask. check this place out for sure. grab a milka bar on the way out.

Their White Wust is the best I’ve ever tasted.

I sought Rolf’s out on a recent business trip to Albany on the recommendation of Unilocalers and I was not disappointed. Though the neighborhood Rolf’s is located in is otherwise a residential one short on other businesses, I can assure you this is a destination well worth seeking out.
The meat case, which runs the entire length of the room, is full of hand selected cuts of meat, hand made sausages of about a dozen varieties (mostly german, and polish, but I’m pretty sure I saw some italian links as well), hand made hot dogs, and some often hard to find butcher’s specialties (tongue, hocks, etc.).
Sadly I was early on in my travels and could not buy anything fresh, as I had some days ahead of me before returning home, and no cooler even if I didn’t. I turned my attention to their dried links. Their house made landjaeger and dried hot sausage are all amazing, and the next time I’m in town I’ll be stocking up on each.
The real prize though is the friendly staff who are helpful and ready to answer any questions, but seem very relaxed and interested in keeping the atmosphere the same.
There’s also a wide selection of german groceries, some german and assorted european cheeses, and even some soft drinks. All in all there is a lot to love here and even more to envy. More than a few ways to fill your belly, occupy your bbq grill, or occupy your sense of culinary adventure.

I’d never been to a German deli before I went to this one. I didn’t know what I had been missing, but apparently I had been missing alot… true, at least, in the case of Rolf’s.
I get out of the car and am instantly greeted with the savory smell of smoked meat. I’m not even int he store yet and can smell smoky goodness.
Tried the bockwurst, weisswurst, and a few other things, but the bratwurst is my current standby. Cook on the stove a bit with some German beer, slap on a grill, enjoy. Just the other week we picked up some German mustard to go along with it. We should have done that sooner, because it is different from any other mustard I’ve had, and in all likelihood is probably a truer mustard than that icky French’s stuff.

Bockwurst is one of many reasons this place gets 5 stars.
Last night, I enjoyed some boiled bockwurst, with fresh apple sauce and bread. Needless to say it became breakfast as well.
I thoroughly enjoy their selection of all sorts of meats — and you need to stock up on all their mustards… I purchased bavarian as well as a really spicy one this time around, but need to start stocking up on everything.
They have an amazing selection of products you didn’t even know existed in a small space. I love this store. You will too.