How to Make Curing Salt for Jerky

Curing salt, also known as pink salt due to its pinkish color, is very often used to help season and preserve different types of meat much longer, its job is to slow down spoilage and prevent bacteria and fungus from forming.

If meats aren’t cured they can develop harmful bacteria that if you consume by mistake, can end up bad for you, that’s why meats are usually cured with curing salt before they’re processed.

This has two main benefits, one, it already adds flavor to the meat, and number two, it expands the meat’s shelf life a lot more.

Jerky, in particular, is a type of meat that has been dried to put a stop to spoilage. During the drying process, curing salt is used to stop bacteria from growing.

As you can see, jerky meat tends to be accompanied by curing salt most of the time. I say this because not everyone likes to use curing salt with their meat, they prefer to use other methods as well.

However, if you like or are curious about how to make your own curing salt, then you have come to the right place. There are many ways you can make curing salt, and it’s not rocket science. So, let’s get started!

Recipe #1

In order to make your own curing salt, the first step you need to do is to add 1oz of sodium nitrite and mix it with 1lb of sea salt in a bowl, you can use table salt if you don’t have sea salt in your kitchen. If you do have sea salt then I recommend using this one.

Recipe #2

Another way of making curing salt is by mixing 4lbs of salt, 1lb of sugar, and 3oz of potassium nitrate in a bowl.

In this recipe, we’re using some sugar to give the meat a sweet touch. You can experiment with as many flavors and combinations as you wish to. Get creative.

These two curing salt recipes are good for curing meats that are going to be smoked for a long time, especially at low temperatures.

Also, they’re good to cure meats that don’t require refrigeration and fresh meats, like sausages.

One thing you should know is that sugar mixed with the rest of the ingredients in recipe number two is excellent to cure pork meat like ham or bacon.

Remember that curating salt is not only meant for preventing spoilage and bacteria growth, it is also meant for seasoning the meat as well.

For that reason, you can use any additional spices, herbs, anything that you want. That extra spiciness will add more interesting flavors to your meat once you taste it.

The best thing about curating salt is that it lasts forever.

Yes, that’s true. Your curating salt won’t go bad, a little yellow tone is perfectly normal, but besides that, your curating salt will last you a lifetime.

Take into consideration that curing meat requires some level of expertise, you need to know what you’re doing, if you don’t, then I highly suggest you go to an expert as consuming meat that is not curated well can end up in severe damages to your health, even death.

So, I hope you found this information useful! Now you know how to make your own curating salt, perfect to cure jerky meat. These recipes are going to last you forever and they’re so easy to make everyone can do it.