Low or no sodium recipes

[Rlinko]

Hi, I'm new to making jerkey, bologna, and kielbasa. Every recipe I find uses a cure or soy sauce. We are on a low sodium restriction, can you make a bologna or kielbasa without using salt? I understand that salt is a preservative but there has to be a way to omit or cut back on the sodium enough for it to be ok.
Any advice or recipes would be appreciated.

 

[S-met]

I'm not lon a ow sodium diet, but try to watch my intake. Sorry that I don't have any input. I've been pondering using potassium chloride but I know it can impart an off flavor and too much potassium has its own concerns.

I also wonder if potassium has additives that prohibit fermentation (like iodized table salt vs sea salt) or inhibit bacteria to the same degree as NaCl. Id hate to "pickle" or cure something only to find that its toxic.

 

[2008RN]

I have not tried to cure anything yet. I am hoping to attempt jerky this summer. I have to be on a fairly low salt diet. I tempt to stay on a 1.5gram (1500mg ) daily diet. This is great so when I go out to eat all the darn salt does does effect my negativity.

I was just checking out cure. As close as a can figure for making 5 pounds you would use a teaspoon. I think this is about 2300mg of Sodium. So that is nit to bad for this much meat. The problem is the extra ingredients that make of the most of the sodium.

I have made my own rubs, BBQ sauce, marinades that are all low salt. But, I am not sure about how I would approach jerkey, bologna, and kielbasa.

 

[DanMcG]

You could go low salt in a fresh sausage, besides the flavor the salt brings out, it also is needed to extract the proteins in the meat which is what binds the meat together.
If you went 1% of the meats weight that would be 4.5 gr per pound. Divide the 4.5 g by 6 links of sausage you'll make out of that pound and it would be 0.75 grams of salt per link. I think sodium is 40% of salt so 0.3g of sodium per link or 300mg. ( it's early, but I beleive the math is right)
You could go heavy on the herbs and spices to boost the flavor, personally to much pepper with taste salty to me. And the there is always MSG, for flavor boosting.

 

[Slow42]

Wrong hobby for no salt usage. Salt used in the appropriate manor is not harmful to anything or anyone.

 

[Rlinko]

I have not tried to cure anything yet. I am hoping to attempt jerky this summer. I have to be on a fairly low salt diet. I tempt to stay on a 1.5gram (1500mg ) daily diet. This is great so when I go out to eat all the darn salt does does effect my negativity.

I was just checking out cure. As close as a can figure for making 5 pounds you would use a teaspoon. I think this is about 2300mg of Sodium. So that is nit to bad for this much meat. The problem is the extra ingredients that make of the most of the sodium.

I have made my own rubs, BBQ sauce, marinades that are tall low salt. But, I am not sure about how I would approach jerkey, bologna, and kielbasa.

We are on the same 1500mg diet. Food isn't enjoyable anymore, going out to eat is a disappointment. For jerkey, can you use one of your rubs then dehydrate? Or let the meat sit in the marinade over night, pull it out the next day and pat it dry before you dehydrate? I don't know, I'm just asking.

 

[Rlinko]

You could go low salt in a fresh sausage, besides the flavor the salt brings out, it also is needed to extract the proteins in the meat which is what binds the meat together.
If you went 1% of the meats weight that would be 4.5 gr per pound. Divide the 4.5 g by 6 links of sausage you'll make out of that pound and it would be 0.75 grams of salt per link. I think sodium is 40% of salt so 0.3g of sodium per link or 300mg. ( it's early, but I beleive the math is right)
You could go heavy on the herbs and spices to boost the flavor, personally to much pepper with taste salty to me. And the there is always MSG, for flavor boosting.

I have made fresh sausage low salt, an Italian and a maple. Both turned out good.

 

[SaltyL]

Wrong hobby for no salt usage. Salt used in the appropriate manor is not harmful to anything or anyone.

NOT TRUE!! I have a medical condition that will not allow salt but I love hotdogs/sausage/all that good stuff, so I use salt substitutes and extra spices, etc. because I can't just use cures/MSG/salt. There MUST be others like me!

 

[Rlinko]

NOT TRUE!! I have a medical condition that will not allow salt but I love hotdogs/sausage/all that good stuff, so I use salt substitutes and extra spices, etc. because I can't just use cures/MSG/salt. There MUST be others like me!

I'm in the same boat. Do the salt substitutes give a good outcome?

 

[Norwester55]

Can't help with curing but heres some salt free rubs/seasonings I ran across while looking at spices.
https://www.pureandnaturalspices.com/Seasoning_Without_Salt_s/1819.htm
https://www.thespicehouse.com/collections/salt-free

 

[Fueling Around]

A low sodium substitute for soy sauce is Coconut Aminos (not Bragg Aminos) at 180 mg per Tbl.

Cure #1 (pink salt) is basically 100% salt with sodium nitrite at 6.25%.
40% is a good number for sodium contribution of pure salt or pink #1 by weight.

 

[SaltyL]

I haven't made hot dogs yet, but the substitutes work pretty well for most things; I've made a lot of different kinds of bulk (unstuffed) sausage and they all taste good. If they don't taste salty enough, I sprinkle some of the salt sub on top and it works.

I'm in the same boat. Do the salt substitutes give a good outcome?