Salt Peter

[bill ace 350]

Local Mennonite store sells it.

I have a supply of Cure #1 and 2 and tenderquick.


Most of what i have read says to avoid it and stick with the above items.

Do people still use it on a regular basis?

Why else would they stock it?

Curious.

 

[mike243]

I suspect my wife has been giving me some on the sly, only thing I can think of lol

 

[DanMcG]

It's only allowed in dry cured, uncooked meat products. well commercially made stuff as per the FDA, If you do get some remember it's pure nitrate and has to be measured in minuscule amounts .

 

[BGKYSmoker]

If you dont know the EXACT amount, DONT USE IT

 

[indaswamp]

I know of some people still using it when making salami. It's a taste thing I guess...they claim the salami tastes less salty when using the potassium nitrate in conjunction with sodium nitrite. There is also a claim that certain bacteria perform processes better in the presence of higher potassium levels which affect flavor. I dunno about all that, have not looked into it deeply yet....

 

[daveomak]

They might use it to blow stumps ???

 

[indaswamp]

I agree with Rick.
Also-WEAR GLOVE when using it!!! That stuff is pure and can kill you if enough is absorbed through the skin.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Yeah wear gloves.
NOTE: Saltpetre is NOT PINK, It looks like table salt

Yup only thing its good for now is to make BOOMERS

 

[dernektambura]

ok, here is how I would use saltpetre... saltpetre (nitrate) is one part found in cure #2 ( other two parts are salt and nitrite)...
Nitrate breaks down in to nitrite over the period of time needed to fully dry cure...
so, knowing that cure #1 is mix of 93.75% salt and 6.25% nitrite you can substitute nitrite with saltpetre at same percentage of 6.25%...
Example: your recipe calls for 0.25% cure #1... you will need to use 6.25% of pure saltpetre out of 0.25%....
in other words:
1000 grams of meat calls for 2.5 grams of cure#1 which is; 2.34375 gr of salt and 0.15625 gr of saltpetre...
thus, for 1000gr of meat you will use 0.15625 gr of saltpetre....
Forget about using tsp... buy good milligram scale...
Main reason why some still use pure nitrate, (saltpetre) is quantity of processed meat...

 

[indaswamp]

I will add this here: (from AI gereration on DuckDuckGo)

Increased nitrate levels can enhance the growth of Staphylococcus xylosus, which is beneficial for flavor development in fermented meat products. This bacterium is commonly used in meat fermentation due to its ability to produce desirable flavors and contribute to the fermentation process.

Which is why I now use potassium nitrate when making salami so I can increase the amount to maximum allowable.....more flavor creation....

 

[SmokinEdge]

A link to application rates per Craft Butchers Pantry.

https://butcherspantry.com/product/fcc-usp-food-grade-potassium-nitrate-kno3-saltpetre-8-oz/

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks for that ink SE... I use 800ppm in salami.