Brine Calculator

In a wet cure the percentage applies to meat AND brine together, not to the meat alone.

Salt75 g5%

Cure #10 g0% of the meat

Nitrite delivered0 ppmthe US limit for bacon is 156 ppm

Sugar30 g

Total cure mixture105 g

Cure for exactly 156 ppm3.74 gwhich is the 0.25% every recipe quotes

Wet cure: total weight3,500 gmeat plus brine — the cure is a percentage of BOTH, not of the meat alone

Salt for the wet cure175 g

Cure #1 for the wet cure0 gstill 0 ppm at equilibrium

Nitrite is what prevents botulism in anaerobic cured meat and nothing else substitutes for it. Weigh it on a scale reading to a tenth of a gram — this is the one kitchen ingredient where guessing is dangerous in both directions.

The formula

nitrite ppm = cure % * 6.25 % * 10,000 ; brine salt = water * salinity %

Equilibrium curing, and why the percentages are small

Weighing the cure as a percentage of the meat means the salt and nitrite end up evenly distributed however long you leave it, and the meat cannot over-cure. That is the whole advantage over the older method of burying meat in a box of salt and guessing the time.

0.25 per cent is not arbitrary

Prague powder #1 is 6.25 % sodium nitrite in ordinary salt, dyed pink so nobody mistakes it for seasoning. Used at 0.25 % of the meat weight it delivers 156 ppm of nitrite, which is exactly the US legal maximum for bacon. The 0.25 % figure was chosen to land on that limit, which is why it appears in every recipe.

The pink salt is not optional and not interchangeable

Nitrite is what prevents Clostridium botulinum in anaerobic cured meat, and no amount of ordinary salt substitutes for it. Cure #2 contains nitrate as well and is for long dry curing, not for bacon. Weigh it on a scale that reads to a tenth of a gram — this is the one kitchen ingredient where guessing is genuinely dangerous, in both directions.

Recipes are starting points

Ovens run hot or cold by 20 degrees, flour absorbs water differently by season and brand, and the same joint of meat cooks at a different rate depending on its shape rather than its weight. Everything here is a planning figure that gets you close enough to start, and the thermometer, the scales and your own notes from last time are what finish the job.