Work out exact curing salt, sugar and curing time for homemade bacon — follow food-safety guidance: curing salt must be weighed accurately, never estimated by volume.
Food safety: weigh curing salt precisely on gram scales, never by spoon. Keep meat refrigerated below 4 deg C throughout curing.
Curing salt (g)
How to use this tool
Accurate weight is the whole basis of the cure — percentages of a guessed weight give a wrong cure.
2.5% salt, 1% sugar and 0.25% Prague Powder #1 are standard dry-cure starting points.
Never measure curing salt by spoon: small errors are a large share of a small, potent ingredient.
Turn daily, keep below 4 deg C, and do not shorten the time for thick bellies.
Formula & worked example
For 1,000 g of pork belly: 25 g salt, 10 g sugar and 2.5 g Prague Powder #1, cured at least 9 days.
Limitations — read this before you rely on it
Curing salt is not table salt: Prague Powder #1 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and must be weighed on gram scales. Never substitute or guess, keep meat refrigerated throughout, and follow a trusted curing guide for your cut and method.
Frequently asked questions
A curing salt of 93.75% salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite, used for meats cured and then cooked, like bacon.
No. Curing salt provides nitrite for safety and colour; plain salt alone does not give the same protection against botulism in cured meats.
Curing salt is potent and spoon volumes vary. Weighing to 0.1 g keeps nitrite near the intended 156 ppm.
At least a week for a typical belly, longer for thicker cuts. The tool gives a minimum guide, not a guarantee for every thickness.
When cured with correct nitrite, kept refrigerated and then cooked, yes — but follow a reputable guide and local food-safety advice.