It seems there has been an uptick recently in curing meats and such on this board, and there is a lot of advice being given; some good, some bad, and some potentially dangerous. So as service to you all, here is a short primer on several kinds of salt a curing recipe may call for.
1) Sodium chloride. AKA table salt, non-iodized salt, kosher salt, canning/pickling salt. The everyday common salt you use to season meats. The thing to remember is that depending on the manufacturer or kind of salt, a cup of kosher salt is lighter than a cup of table salt, which is lighter than a cup of canning/pickling salt. The way around this is to use a recipe that calls for weight instead of volume. I prefer to use kosher salt, but use whatever you have, with the exception of iodized salt, which I would recommend you not use for curing because of the iodine.
2) Sodium nitrite. AKA Pink salt, DC Curing Salt, DQ Curing Salt, Insta-Cure #1, Prague Powder, Modern Cure, Nitrite. Sodium nitrite is a very common curing salt, used in a wide variety of brines and cures. It is typically used for items that will cure quickly and is tinted pink so that it's not confused with table salt or sugar. It is always tinted pink to keep from confusing it with table salt, because, and this is very important, sodium nitrite is toxic in large enough quantities. Store it somewhere where a small child or animal cannot access it. All curing mixes using nitrite are mixed to a 6.25% standard, and the ratio is to use 4 ounces of whatever product you're using to 100# of meat. As always, read the label and literature just to be sure. You can order it online from multiple sources, and I have found it at Academy on occasions.
3) Sodium Nitrate. AKA DQ Curing Salt #2, DC Cure #2, Prague Powder #2, Insta-Cure #2, Nitrate. Nitrate is used for cures that require a longer curing time. Think of nitrate as a time-release nitrite. As it is utilized in the cure, it converts to nitrite over time. It's most often called for in the making of pepperone, salumi, spanish chorizo, proscuitto, and products that take a long time to cure. I have not been able to find it locally, but it is readily available online.
4) Potassium nitrate. AKA Saltpeter. Saltpeter used to be used extensively in meat curing, but it has been linked to causing cancer, and some European countries have banned commercial use in food products. I wouldn't use it either.
One of the things to be careful of is that you can't directly substitute either of these with each other, nor should you. Follow the recipes, and when in doubt, get a different recipe. Most modern recipes will say explicitly what cure/salt to use.
[This message has been edited by HTownAg98 (edited 1/31/2011 6:00p).]
1) Sodium chloride. AKA table salt, non-iodized salt, kosher salt, canning/pickling salt. The everyday common salt you use to season meats. The thing to remember is that depending on the manufacturer or kind of salt, a cup of kosher salt is lighter than a cup of table salt, which is lighter than a cup of canning/pickling salt. The way around this is to use a recipe that calls for weight instead of volume. I prefer to use kosher salt, but use whatever you have, with the exception of iodized salt, which I would recommend you not use for curing because of the iodine.
2) Sodium nitrite. AKA Pink salt, DC Curing Salt, DQ Curing Salt, Insta-Cure #1, Prague Powder, Modern Cure, Nitrite. Sodium nitrite is a very common curing salt, used in a wide variety of brines and cures. It is typically used for items that will cure quickly and is tinted pink so that it's not confused with table salt or sugar. It is always tinted pink to keep from confusing it with table salt, because, and this is very important, sodium nitrite is toxic in large enough quantities. Store it somewhere where a small child or animal cannot access it. All curing mixes using nitrite are mixed to a 6.25% standard, and the ratio is to use 4 ounces of whatever product you're using to 100# of meat. As always, read the label and literature just to be sure. You can order it online from multiple sources, and I have found it at Academy on occasions.
3) Sodium Nitrate. AKA DQ Curing Salt #2, DC Cure #2, Prague Powder #2, Insta-Cure #2, Nitrate. Nitrate is used for cures that require a longer curing time. Think of nitrate as a time-release nitrite. As it is utilized in the cure, it converts to nitrite over time. It's most often called for in the making of pepperone, salumi, spanish chorizo, proscuitto, and products that take a long time to cure. I have not been able to find it locally, but it is readily available online.
4) Potassium nitrate. AKA Saltpeter. Saltpeter used to be used extensively in meat curing, but it has been linked to causing cancer, and some European countries have banned commercial use in food products. I wouldn't use it either.
One of the things to be careful of is that you can't directly substitute either of these with each other, nor should you. Follow the recipes, and when in doubt, get a different recipe. Most modern recipes will say explicitly what cure/salt to use.
[This message has been edited by HTownAg98 (edited 1/31/2011 6:00p).]