ELBERTA, Ala. (WKRG) — About this time every year, special ingredients go into the meat grinder at Farm Fresh Meats in Robertsdale. “It’s a secret blend kept under lock and key that we only produce twice a year,” said owner Erin Salyers.

It’s a German recipe, beef, pork and garlic, handed down through the generations to produce the sausages for the Elberta German Sausage Festival. “The sausage festival is our biggest fundraiser to help pay for our fuel and insurance, gives us the gear that we have for helping the community,” said Elberta Deputy Fire Chief Frank Stewart.

“It’s grown a lot,” added Salyers. “It’s a really big event.”

Almost 10,000 pounds of sausage will be produced for the festival. “We are stuffing sausages into its casing and linking it into 9-inch links, putting in bags, boxing it up,” said Salyers. She said it’s a tradition of family and flavor that started 47 years ago

A tradition of family and flavor that started more than four decades ago. “They approached my Dad in 1979. Their first order there was 200 pounds of fresh German sausage and now we have made up to ten thousand for that one-day event.”

The festival includes arts and crafts, music and family-friendly entertainment. But the big draw is the sausages. If you want a taste, get there early they never last long.