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Curing Salt (Prague Powder) Calculator

Calculate precise pink salt / Prague Powder quantities for cured meats with safety-critical nitrite dosing and wet brine proportions.

Standard 2-3%

Results

Pink Salt / Cure Required5.00 g curing salt
Additional Table Salt45.0 g regular salt
Water for Wet Brine800 mL water (for wet brine)

📖What is it?

Curing salts (pink salt, Prague Powder #1 and #2) contain sodium nitrite and/or sodium nitrate, which inhibit Clostridium botulinum (botulism), preserve colour, and develop the characteristic cured-meat flavour. The pink dye distinguishes them from table salt.

🎯How to use

Weigh your meat accurately, enter the weight in kg, and select your curing powder type. Prague Powder #1 is for short cures (bacon, ham) cooked before eating. #2 is for long dry-cured products (salami, prosciutto) that are not cooked. The calculator gives you precise gram weights.

💡Example scenario

For 2 kg pork belly (bacon) using Pink Salt #1 at 2.5% total salt: 5 g curing salt + 45 g table salt in 800 mL water. Cure in the fridge for 7 days, turning daily. Rinse, dry, then cold-smoke.

🏆Pro tip

?? IMPORTANT: Precise measurement is absolutely critical. Too much nitrite can be toxic � excess nitrites above safe limits are dangerous. Use a digital scale accurate to 0.1 g. Never exceed 0.25% pink salt of meat weight. Do not substitute curing salt for regular salt in any recipe.