Bacon salt content question

[SmokinEdge]

I found a comment by Rytek Kutas in his book that states there is enough salt in cure #1 alone to safely process meat.
I found that 0.25% salt is a bit flat for my taste. 0.5% to 1.0% is my flavor range.
Sausage is fine at 0.5% because you can mix in a lot of spices for flavor.
Bacon and loin needs closer to 1% for my taste.

I put all my dry rub, including the cure, through a blade style coffee grinder to make a uniform dust.

Good information right there. Not sure that I agree with Kutas, but I’m on board with the rest.

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I would give 1% a try. Not sure how you feel about sugar but around .75% will balance the salt and make it taste more sweet savory than salt forward.

If that doesn’t work you can lower salt more, cure 1 can be lowered a smidge too. I don’t do any curing below 1% but I know John, @noboundaries does and is successful and happy with his finished product. Maybe he will chime in. Also if you end up below 1% salt it may worth a try to use JC’s method of 10% water of meat weight. This way you dissolve the lower salt and potentially get more even coverage in the bag.

Sorry I fergot to add the last batch was 1% sugar. These were my numbers. PB=belly PL=loin

 

[SmokinEdge]

Sorry I fergot to add the last batch was 1% sugar. These were my numbers. PB=belly PL=loin
View attachment 716996

Keep sugar the same and drop salt to 1% on DD calculator. Let’s try that.

 

[paulgeorge]

I have been seeing a lot of discussion on the forum lately about bacon curing. I just started some new bacon curing 2 days ago and have made bacon a few times already that turned out well with no issues. So, here is my question. I see that salt content has a bit of a range from different recipes. After doing some research on the proper salt content for doing bacon curing safely, it seems that a 3% salt content is what is generally accepted as safe. My brine recipe uses a lower salt concentration than 3%. Is this 3% number what I should be shooting for? Do I need to adjust my recipe?

Thanks for any input you can provide on this issue.

JC nome invisivel

Yes, a 3% salt concentration is generally recommended for bacon curing as it ensures the meat is properly preserved and safe to eat. The salt helps to inhibit bacterial growth while drawing moisture out of the meat. If your current brine recipe has a lower salt concentration, it’s advisable to adjust it to hit the 3% target for safety reasons. While lower concentrations can still work, they may not provide the same level of preservation or flavor development, so adjusting your recipe to meet the recommended 3% would be a good idea to ensure optimal results.