Cure #1 (6.25% nitrite)
| Nitrite | Per 1 kg | Per 1 lb | Per 5 lb | What this level is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 ppm | 1.6 g | 0.7 g | 3.6 g | A practical floor, not a USDA number: below it the calculator warns that the margin against C. botulinum gets thin |
| 120 ppm | 1.9 g | 0.8 g | 4.3 g | Limit for bacon in a brine — there the dose is weighed on the water, not on the meat |
| 156 ppm | 2.4 g | 1.1 g | 5.6 g | The usual dose (0.25% of the weight); limit for ground meat, jerky and salami |
| 200 ppm | 3.2 g | 1.4 g | 7.2 g | Limit for dry-cured bacon |
Rounded down to 0.1 g (to 1 g once the dose is 10 g or more), never up — the same rule the SaltCure app uses.
European curing salt (Pökelsalz, peklosól)
Usually 0.4–0.6% nitrite, so the grams are roughly ten times bigger. Check the percentage on your own pack.
| Nitrite | 0.6% salt, per 1 kg | 0.5% salt, per 1 kg | 0.6% salt, per 1 lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 ppm | 16 g | 20 g | 7.5 g |
| 120 ppm | 20 g | 24 g | 9 g |
| 156 ppm | 26 g | 31 g | 11 g |
Where the limits come from
Bacon: 9 CFR 424.22(b). Other cured meat: 9 CFR 424.21(c).
These rules were written for commercial plants, not home kitchens; we use them as the best public numeric reference, and the result is not a guarantee.
