# Low Sodium Bacon



## metalman1976 (Mar 14, 2020)

I switched over from wet cure to dry cure long time ago and  never looked back. My question is how low of a salt level can you go, if any salt at all, with cure #1.  I typically use 1 tsp cure #1, 1 tbsp Mortons coarse kosher salt and 2 tbsp brown sugar per 5 lb pork belly . I believe it's relatively 1% each for salt and sugar. Also can you cure just using cure #1 with only spices and seasoning - no salt or sugar?


----------



## thirdeye (Mar 14, 2020)

My Lower-Salt bacon calls for 1.8% salt, or 18.5 grams of salt per 1000 grams of pork belly.  It's actually a hair more because of the salt in the 2.5 grams of Cure #1 I add.   I've seen other people's recipes that call out 2.5% or 3% salt. 

Yes, you can cure meat by using Cure #1 alone or Cure #1 with a small amount of canning salt but it's very difficult to evenly distribute such a small amount.  Do a Google search for 'Greg Blonder Dry-Rub Pastrami', and you can read about his process.  I tried it and it was not for me.  The beef had the right color and texture, but I found the flavor seriously lacking.


----------



## metalman1976 (Mar 14, 2020)

I've found the 1%  works good for my preference, any lower would be bland and any higher tastes like a salt lick.
I'm just gathering info because moderators on another forum are telling people the lowest limit you can safely go is 1.5% salt and I'm trying to shut that stupidity down...


----------

