If bacon had its own Twitter account, it would have more fans than Barack Obama, Katy Perry, and Justin Bieber put together. Everyone loves those slabs of salty goodness. Even those forbidden to eat it have been known to long for it. The photos below show that I lost more than 20 pounds. I ate all of that food before I finished my first draft a week later (with the help of family and friends, of course; I’m not that greedy).
The many good things about bacon are so important to me that it was hard for me to write about them because the words never seemed good enough. Then I remembered: Bacon is great, and you’re not here to read my bad writing; you’re here because you love it too, so let’s get it started!
There is so much to say about bacon, I’ve divided the process into two parts: curing and smoking. In this post I’ll cover two methods of curing. I’ll cover smoking in part 2.
Bacon was the first meat I cured myself, and it’s the best cut for someone who has never done it before. It’s very simple and doesn’t need any special tools to make a great product that beats everything in your local grocery store. All that’s needed is access to a refrigerator, a smoker, and a handful of ingredients.
Curing salt also known as pink salt Prague powder, or insta cure #1, is an essential ingredient when making bacon and other cured meats at home. But how much should you use? Getting the curing salt ratio right is critical for food safety, proper preservation, and great flavor.
What is Curing Salt and Why is it Used for Bacon?
Curing salt contains sodium nitrite, which serves several important purposes:
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It gives bacon and other cured meats their characteristic pink color. Nitrite reacts with the meat pigment myoglobin to produce nitric oxide which leads to the formation of pink nitrosylhemochrome.
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It prevents the growth of dangerous bacteria like botulism and listeria by inhibiting the germination of spores. This allows bacon to be safely cooked and stored.
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It produces a unique cured meat flavor by reacting with proteins
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It acts as an antioxidant to prevent rancidity.
Most commercial bacons contain nitrite introduced through curing salt during processing. To replicate this at home, curing salt must be used when making bacon from scratch.
How Much Curing Salt Per Pound of Meat?
The recommended usage level of curing salt is 0.25% of the weight of the meat.
For example, if you are curing 5 lbs of pork belly for bacon, you would use:
- 5 lbs pork belly = 2267g
- 0.25% x 2267g = 5.7g curing salt
Since most scales don’t measure single grams accurately, it’s best to round up to 6g or 0.2 oz of curing salt for 5 lbs of meat.
This equates to approximately 1 teaspoon of curing salt per 5 lbs of meat.
Note: Always weigh curing salt amounts in grams for accuracy. Measuring by volume can lead to variability.
Wet Brine vs Dry Cure Methods
You can use curing salt when making bacon with either a wet brine or a dry cure method:
Wet Brine
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Dissolve the curing salt in the water used for the brine based on 0.25% of the meat weight.
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Fully submerge the pork belly and brine for 10-14 days.
Dry Cure
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Calculate 0.25% of the meat weight. Weigh out this amount of curing salt and add it to the other dry ingredients.
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Thoroughly coat the pork belly with the dry cure mix on all surfaces.
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Cure for 5-7 days.
In both cases, the amount of curing salt used is the same per pound of meat. The only difference is whether it’s incorporated into a wet brine or dry rub.
Using Curing Salt Safely
Curing salt containing sodium nitrite must be handled carefully:
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Accurately weigh amounts in grams with a kitchen scale. Don’t estimate volumes.
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Closely follow recommended concentrations – no more than 0.25% of meat weight.
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Store tightly sealed away from children and pets as it is toxic in high doses.
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Cure in the refrigerator at 40°F or below. Don’t cure at room temperature.
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Cook cured meat to recommended safe internal temperatures.
When used properly, curing salt allows you to safely achieve delicious cured meat flavors at home.
Signs of Too Much or Too Little Curing Salt
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Too much curing salt will result in an extremely salty flavor.
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Too little curing salt can allow bacteria growth and gray color.
Sticking to the 0.25% level will give you just the right cured meat flavor and texture.
Curing Salt Substitutes
There are no direct substitutes for curing salt containing sodium nitrite. Some alternatives like celery juice powder do naturally contain nitrite, but it’s difficult to control the amounts precisely. For best results, use proper pink curing salt.
How Other Factors Affect Curing Salt Usage
Meat Type
- Use 0.25% of the meat weight whether it is pork, beef, poultry, or other meats.
Meat Size
- The curing salt usage is proportional to the weight of the meat. Use 0.25% whether curing a 5 lb pork belly or 10 lb section.
Cure Duration
- Use 0.25% curing salt regardless of the planned cure time. Shorter and longer duration cures use the same concentration.
Dry vs. Wet Curing
- Use 0.25% curing salt for both dry and wet curing methods based on meat weight.
Storing and Handling Curing Salt
To safely store and handle curing salt:
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Keep tightly sealed and away from children and pets.
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Store in a cool, dry place away from light. An airtight jar works well.
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Avoid direct contact with skin and eyes. Wash hands after use.
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Check the expiration date and don’t use if expired.
Follow basic kitchen safety practices when handling this powerful ingredient.
Frequently Asked Questions About Curing Salt for Bacon
Can you make bacon without curing salt?
It’s not recommended, as the bacon may carry food safety risks if the meat is not properly cured. Proper use of curing salt prevents bacterial growth.
What is the best curing salt for bacon?
Look for pink curing salt #1, which contains 6.25% sodium nitrite. This type is formulated for cures lasting less than 30 days like bacon.
Can I use Morton® Tender Quick® instead?
Tender Quick® is a pre-mixed curing product containing salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, and other ingredients. It cannot be substituted 1:1 for curing salt. Follow specific Tender Quick® instructions.
What color should bacon be after curing?
Properly cured bacon should have a nice even pink color all the way through the meat. Gray spots indicate not enough curing salt was used.
Can I reuse bacon curing brine?
It’s not recommended to reuse wet curing brines multiple times. Always make fresh brine with precise curing salt amounts for each use.
Master Proper Curing Salt Usage for Delicious Bacon
Now that you know how much curing salt to use per pound of meat, you can confidently cure your own bacon and other meats at home. Precisely measure 0.25% of the meat weight in grams, and you’ll achieve great results and safety every time. Enjoy the signature pink color and irresistible cured meat flavor that curing salt helps provide in your homemade bacon.
Two methods to choose from
There are two curing methods to choose from: Dry and wet. Both have their pros and cons. A dry cure is just like it sounds – dry. Salt, sugar, pepper, and Insta-cure are rubbed all over every surface of the belly. It’s then wrapped up and set in a refrigerator for 6-7 days to cure. With a wet cure, the belly is put in a solution that is mostly water and then put in the fridge for 10 to 14 days.
- Shorter cure duration
- Easier to store in smaller refrigerators
- Exotic flavor profiles are easier to achieve
- Can be a bit messier
- Sometimes bacon gets hot or cold spots because it has too much or too little cure.
- Not as messy
- Cure is distributed more evenly
- Large enough to take up a lot of room in the fridge
- It can take up to twice as long to dry than a dry cure method.
- Exotic flavor profiles are hard to achieve
Since I purchased a giant belly I used both methods. For the dry cure I prefer to use honey and brown sugar to punch up the sweetness. Start by combining ½ cup of salt ½ cup of brown sugar, 1 TBS of black pepper, and 1 tsp of Insta-Cure #1. This amount of Insta-Cure is specific to a five-pound belly. Please be sure and use the correct amounts for the size you have.
After the dry rub is mixed set it aside. Pour the honey over the belly and coat evenly. Then sprinkle the cure over all parts of the meat front and back. After it is completely coated using all the cure and honey, wrap up the soon-to-be bacon. Plastic wrap is perfectly acceptable to use. I found jumbo 2. It’s much easier to fit a thick piece of bacon inside a bunch of 5 gallon Ziplock bags than the other way around. Want to turn up the heat? Substitute this Hot Honey.
Find a local farmer or reputable butcher if possible
Procuring the pork belly is the hardest part of curing bacon at home. Most big-box grocery stores do not carry pork bellies. There is simply not enough demand to keep them in stock. This is where a local butcher or farmers market comes in handy. Local butchers have an advantage over supermarkets because they work with local farmers to source their meat. Nine times out of ten, local sources of pork are a much higher quality.
There is no doubt that heritage breed pork from Berkshire, Duroc, Red Wattle, or Mangalitsa pigs that were raised with love and care will taste great. Of course, it will probably cost a little more, but the taste and texture will be much better, the animals were probably raised in better conditions, and the money will help your local farming community. It’s a win all the way around.
If you don’t have a butcher or farmer’s market close by, big restaurant supply stores will probably have meat. They are also likely to have the best prices. But it’s normal for these stores to only sell pork bellies by the case, which is 50 pounds, and the pork is usually not very good. Some people might not mind having a case of pork, but for others it might cost too much or take up too much room.
Yet another option is to try a local ethnic grocery store. For the most part, Latino and Asian grocery stores will keep bellies in stock and sell them in much smaller sizes. I recommend buying at least a five-pound slab, which is normally half a belly. The thicker the better.
For this walkthrough I lucked out at my local butcher shop. I asked the butcher for a nice, thick pork belly because I was going to cure some bacon with it. He went behind closed doors and came out with the biggest pork belly I’ve ever seen. He tossed it up on the scale and it came in at 25 pounds. Yahtzee!.
Trying to cure a whole belly this size is generally too much to handle. Trying to wrap it up is hard, and most home cooks don’t have room for such a big cut in their fridge or smoker. I wanted to use pork belly in a few more recipes, so I cut the huge piece of meat into five-pound pieces. If you want to be generous, I suggest cutting bellies into five-pound pieces. They are the perfect size for easy handling and will be enough for you, your friends, and family.
After slicing the belly, the first step in the process is to remove the skin. A sharp fillet knife and a slow and steady pace are key. Leave as much fat as possible on the belly. Once the skin is removed don’t throw it away. It will make an excellent batch of chicharrones. Put it in a ziplock bag and toss it in the freezer until you need it.
Now it’s time to cure. At this point, cutting off a piece of the belly and frying it would not make it taste like bacon. It would have a delicious fatty porky taste. That’s not what we are after here. In order to get that salty pink-colored goodness, it needs to be placed in a cure. It’s like a caterpillar that needs to go into a cocoon of cure before it can turn into a beautiful bacon butterfly. “Your pork belly is like a caterpillar that needs to cure in a cocoon before it can turn into a beautiful bacon butterfly.” [/pullquote].
So what is a cure exactly? Essentially a cure is salt, sugar, and sodium nitrite. Insta-Cure #1 is the most commonly used type of sodium nitrite. The Insta-Cure is what gives bacon that pink color we all know and love. The benefit of adding Insta-Cure #1 is food safety. It prevents nasty things like botulism that can grow in warm and moist environments with low oxygen. Sounds a lot like a warm smoking cabinet doesn’t it?.