Cured dry products - country ham, country style pork shoulder, prosciutto, etc. These products are prepared from a single piece of meat and the curing ingredients are rubbed into the surface of the meat several times during the curing period. Nitrite is applied to the surface of the meat or poultry as part of a cure mixture. If you look at the FSIS nitrite limits you will see that the maximum nitrite limit for Dry Cured Products (625 ppm) is four times higher than for Comminuted Products (156 ppm). The reason that there are much higher allowable nitrite limits for dry cured products is that nitrite dissipates rapidly in time. The dry cured products are air dried for a long time. When the product is ready for consumption it hardly contains any nitrite left. Those higher limits guarantee a steady supply of nitrite in time. That positively contributes to the safety of the product and its color. To cure meat for sausages and to stay within 156 ppm nitrite limit we must apply no more than 1 oz of Cure #1 for each 25 lb of meat. To dry cure 25 lb of pork butts and to stay within 625 nitrite limits we can apply 4 times more of Cure #1, in our case 4 ounces. Keep in mind that when you add Cure #1 (there is 93.75% salt in it) you are adding extra salt to your meat and you may re-adjust your recipe.
Marianski, Stanley. Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages (Kindle Locations 995-1000). Bookmagic LLC. Kindle Edition.
Marianski, Stanley. Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages (Kindle Locations 989-995). Bookmagic LLC. Kindle Edition.