Directions

1. 1. Day 1: Mix all ingredients thoroughly, cover and refrigerate.
2. 2. Day 2: Remove from refrigerator and knead meat mixture well with your hands for five to ten minutes; return to refrigerator.
3. 3. Day 3: Same as Day 2.
4. 4. Day 4: Same as Day 2.
5. 5. Day 5: Shape the meat mixture into six rolls, about eight inches long and 1 1/2 to 2 inches across.
6. 6. Place on a rack over a cookie sheet and bake for 8 1/2 hours at 200 degrees F.
7. 7. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Wrap each sausage in plastic wrap and refrigerate. This makes a firm cured sausage with excellent keeping qualities.
8. 8. Notes and variations: Do not change the quantities of the spices in the original spice list. The salts and the potassium nitrate are required to cure the meat. You can buy food grade potassium nitrate (saltpeter) online and sometimes at a pharmacy.
9. 9. If you do not like the taste of garlic, replace the garlic salt with onion salt or table salt (the key is that it must be a salt, not a powder).
10. 10. You can experiment with additional flavorings. The addition of thyme, rosemary, tarragon or sage will give the sausage more of a European flavor. Onion powder might be an interesting addition. Basil and oregano will add an Italian taste. The addition of cayenne, dried crushed chilies and/or paprika will make a good pepperoni-type sausage.
11. 11. If you want to make several flavors of sausage from this recipe, make the original version and let it cure for the required time. On Day 5, separate the meat mixture into six portions and add different spices to each portion of the meat (kneading spices thoroughly into the meat mixture) to end up with a variety of sausage flavors.
12. 12. To taste for additional flavorings, take a small pinch of the meat mixture, flatten into a small patty and cook in a frying pan until done. Although the texture will be different than the finished sausage, it will be a fairly accurate reflection of the final flavor. Add more seasonings to taste.
13. 13. This sausage freezes well and, in any reasonable serving size, has close to zero grams of carbohydrates and is appropriate for induction cooking.