Gluten-Free, Nitrate-Free Summer Sausage Recipe

This summer sausage recipe has no gluten, no nitrates or other bad stuff, and it’s delicious! Since it has no preservatives, it can be refrigerated for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 6 months.

*Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork (or use 2 lbs beef and omit the pork)
• 5 tsp smoked sea salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 T dried bell pepper or 1/4 c fresh
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or 1 finely chopped jalepeno pepper
• 1 T celery seed
• 1 T whole mustard
• 1/3 c chedder cheese, cut into 1/4″ chunks (optional)

Mix meat and spices on low for 8-10 minutes. Stir in cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, mix on low for another 1-2 minutes. Divide meat in half. Form each half into a log and place on a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly, smoothing out wrinkles as you go. Give the ends of the plastic wrap a twist. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

Preheat oven to 250. Remove plastic wrap and place your logs of meat on a baking sheet with edges. Turn meat after 1 hour. Cook an additional 1 1/2 hours ( about 2 1/2 hours total), or until logs of meat have a nice thin crust and internal temperature has reached at least 165F. Chill before slicing into 1/4″ rounds.

You can find smoked sea salt here:

Enjoy your guilt-free summer sausage!

-Kait