I found this quantities give perfect balance of flavors, in my opinion:
For 1kg of meat (2 lbs)
Salt between 12g - 15g in total, including the cure. Most recipes call for 20g, which I think is way too salty, and I eat pretty salty. Keep in mind that cure is 94% salt, so adding cure will also add salt. Calculate accordingly.
Sugar 2g or 3g, any more and the taste would be noticeable. In kielbasa, sugar is added for preserving the color, not for the taste
Black pepper 3g
Marjoram 2g
Fresh garlic 10g. If you love garlic, you can go up to 15g. If using garlic powder, use 5g or 6g.
If you want to add whole mustard seeds use 4g. Mustard seeds are not present in a traditional kielbasa recipe, but many people add them for the taste.
Use 2.5g cure #1 for 2 lbs of meat.
You can use this online calculator:
http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html
Just remember, cube the meat, add the cure, mix well and press hard, not to let any air pockets between the pieces of meat. Put in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 - 48 hours, to let the cure penetrate the meat. You should not cover the meat because the cure makes a chemical reaction and the resulted gas should be allowed to escape.
I suggest you don't add any water, unless you are planning to smoke the sausage. If so, add 60ml of water (1/2 cup) for every 2 lbs. More water may help with mixing and stuffing, but makes the sausage watery and diminishes the flavor. The meat already contains lots of moisture by itself.
