# DIY pink salt.....can do??



## expat smoker (Feb 12, 2013)

Very sorry to double post, but my situation is somewhat urgent in that I have some pork bellies waiting for a cure and here in Thailand, ;Pink Salt' and/or Prague powders are impossible to find here, but today I did manage to find and purchase 1 kilo food grade sodium nitrate and 1 kilo sodium nitrite and I do have lots of kosher salt.....

my question is simple......can I simply mix 93.75% kosher salt with 6.25% sodium nitrate or nitrite?? and any tips or cautions??

Thanks in advance


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## pops6927 (Feb 12, 2013)

Yes, found an article that provides the information and made it into an Article here on the board.  I did give full credit to the article on eHow.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/making-your-own-curing-salts


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## daveomak (Feb 12, 2013)

expat, morning.....  If you use the metric measure in the Far East, making a mix that is easier to convert to your system would be worth it.... 

1 Kg meat needs 156 Ppm nitrite.....   156 Ppm/1000 gms = 0.156 gms nitrite per 1 kilogram meat....

1 Kg meat @ 2% salt                            0.02 X 1000 gms = 20 gms salt per 1 kilogram meat..

Adding the nitrite to the salt at that ratio....  0.156 gms nitrite to 20 gms salt....

1000 / 20 = 50......          50 x 0.156 gms =* 7.8 gms of nitrite per 1 Kg of salt.... *

Using that ratio or any ratio you choose,  20 gms of salt/nitrite mix, will give you 156 Ppm nitrite and a 2% salt added to 1000 gms (1 Kg) meat.... a "somewhat" universal mix of salt/nitrite.....

That mix would be used for short term curing under refrigeration....   Long term curing from 45 deg + would use nitrate.... 

I'm not familiar enough with nitrate curing to provide a solution for you at this time....

Dave

Dirty Harry quote, "A man must know his limitations" ....


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## BGKYSmoker (Feb 12, 2013)

I have made my own.

***BE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING***

1 oz of sodium nitrate to 16 oz of salt or 1.25 oz potassium nitrate to 1 lb of salt.

**WHAT EVER RECIPE YOU USE, LABEL IT AS IT WILL NOT BE PINK**


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## daveomak (Feb 12, 2013)

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....................    Thanks nepas.... I knew I would forget something.....   

nitrite is extremly poisonous.... when used improperly....


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## diggingdogfarm (Feb 12, 2013)

expat smoker said:


> My question is simple......can I simply mix 93.75% kosher salt with 6.25% sodium nitrate or nitrite?? and any tips or cautions??



Please be aware that nitrite is much more toxic than nitrate, you must be extremely careful when working with nitrite.
For that reason, I don't recommend mixing the nitrite with salt to make a batch of cure mix because of the tendency of the nitrite to settle out of the mix and became more concentrated in some areas of the mix than others, even when well mixed.
I recommend getting an accurate high-resolution scale and mixing just what you need.

*Check, double check and triple check your calculations and measurements.*

~Martin


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