If you’re interested in curing meat you are definitely reading recipes that call for things like sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate, or Prague powder # 1 or #2 or Insta cure 1 or #2.
Here, as follows, is a brief explanation of what each of these ingredients is and what each is used for.

Firstly:

1.    Speed Cure, Insta cure #1 and Prague powder #1 are the same

2.     Insta cure #2 and Prague powder #2 are the same

and

3.     Speed Cure, Insta cure #1 and Prague powder #1 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% salt

4.     Insta cure #2 and Prague powder #2 contains about 6.25% sodium nitrite and about 1% sodium nitrate and about 92.75% salt

What Are Both Cures Used For?

These cures are used in meat preservation, often in the making of things like bacon, ham or sausages, or air dried products, like dried sausages.

Cures are used to:

·         Prevent the possibility of botulism in the meat

·         To aid in preservation slightly

·         To improve the flavor of the finished product

·         To render the finished cooked product pink in color (If you don’t use a cure, your bacon will be grey)

What’s Insta Cure #1 Used For?

Insta Cure #1 is used for any type of cured meat product that will require cooking, such as bacon, hams that are not air dried, smoked but not dried sausages etc.

2 tsps of insta cure #1 is enough to cure roughly 10 lbs of sausage or bacon.

What’s Insta Cure #2 Used For?

Insta Cure #2 is used for meat products that will be air dried and not cooked, such as dried salamis, pepperonis etc, and some air dried hams.

The reason a cure with the addition of sodium nitrate (Insta Cure #2) is used for such long curing products is because it breaks down very slowly over a period of time into sodium nitrite. In the words of the great sausage maker, Rytek Kutas, the sodium nitrate works like an extended release medication for meats that require very long curing times, like dry cured sausages.

Why Are the Cures Dyed Pink?

Cures are dyed pink so that you won’t confuse them with table salt and use them in quantities that might put people in danger.

Sodium nitrite, even in small quantities, is very dangerous, and can kill. The lowest known lethal dose of sodium nitrite is 71mg per kg of body weight. At this level, about a tsp of pure sodium nitrite could be enough to kill an average sized adult.

This is why it is mixed in small quantities with salt, dissolved into water, then turned back into a uniform crystal and then dyed pink.

Don’t be afraid to use curing salts, but do respect their potency, do keep them safe from the hands of those who don’t know how to use them and do make sure you understand how much you should be using in any given situation. When using the internet as a source, you should also be sure to double or triple check on other sites any information given about nitrite quantities, to verify that what you are going to do is in fact safe for you and your family.