This calculator below is all about equilibrium curing either with a dry or wet cure.
| Meat Curing Calculator Tool | |
| Method |
Equilibrium Dry Curing
or Equilibrium Wet Brining |
| Meat Weight | lb kg g |
| Salt | % |
| Water % | % |
|
Calculations |
|
| Pink Curing Salt | 1.59 g or 0.056 oz (optional depending on preference or recipe) |
| Sea Salt | 15.88 g or 0.56 oz |
| Water | 0.181 litres or 0.048 gallons |
Key Points
- Recent tweaks – adjustable water for equilibrium brining (it was 40%, but that isn’t enough to submerge some meat shapes; I’ve had to go up to 80% for hams – I suggest dropping your hunk of meat in the container and test filling first!)
- Hopefully, the above makes sense; it’s 0.25% pink curing salt for either pink curing salt #1 or #2
- If wet brining, it’s a base of 40% water ratio to the weight ie. 1L=1Kg therefore, 1 Kg of Meat would need 400 ml of water.
- It’s up to you; for simple dry-cured meat 2.25% is a very common sea salt level (pink salt in addition to this, so it ends up being 2.5% TOTAL SALT.
Information About Salt Per Pound for Curing Meat
You need accurate digital scales with equilibrium curing, the whole point is consistent salt flavor and consistent meat curing results.
Here is a page I wrote with some digital scales I can recommend.
If you’re looking for a guide on building a DIY curing chamber for dry-cured meat or you are interested in a charcuterie course – check out more info on this page.
The amount of pink curing salt (also here is an article about which type of salt) for the amounts of meat that you are curing is a ratio that should always be the same, but there are some calculations needed.
If you want to control the level of saltiness, then this method will help you achieve this.
So, I created this tool/calculator to help you easily calculate the amounts (well, it was my awesome brother, coding Mathematician Mike D).
For either Pink Curing Salt No.1 or No.2 (same percentages of pink curing salt anyway).
Rather than using a hit-and-miss method.
This calculation can be done manually, and I used to do it that way for many years. It’s up to you whether you include this additive in meat curing.
I want to summarize the equilibrium curing and equilibrium brining process if you are new to these terms.
I think the confusion comes from the directions on a lot of pink curing salt, which talks about it in commercial quantities and applies to commercial methods
From using a lot of different types of curing salt. There are a whole bunch of methods that people use, and you read about. So regardless of whether you’re cured, meat will be consumed in under 30 days for Pink Curing Salt No. 1. Or over 30 days for Pink Curing Salt No. 2.
But there’s one way to work out exactly how much curing salt for dry curing or wet brining cures.
Don’t get me wrong; I still love the traditional ‘by the eye’ salting that a master salter is respected for in Italy (like the Parma Ham Salt Masters).
But many use weighed amounts of salt over the pork leg anyway for prosciutto.
But if you want a more consistent outcome at home, this is what the methodology is all about.
The owner of an 85,000-a-year Parma Ham factory (mid-sized out of 150 producers around Parma) I visited said 2-3% of his hams are wasted yearly. Due to the variations with hand salting, that’s about 2,550 Parma Hams a year in the rubbish bin.
Tables & Tools for Working out the Curing Salt
For Dry Curing Using Equilibrium Curing,
It’s the ratio of 0.25% pink curing salt to the total weight of the meat
How Much Curing Salt Per Pound or Kilogram of Meat?
| Per Pound of Meat (453.6 grams) | Per Kilogram of Meat (1000 grams) | |
| Under 30 Dry Cure – Pink Curing Salt No. 1 (0.25% of the Weight) | 1.134g | 2.5g (0.25%) |
| Over 30 Dry Cure – Pink Curing Salt No. 2 (0.25% of the Weight) | 1.134g | 2.5g (0.25%) |
The biggest challenge for most people, when they use this method, is that the digital scales or even analog scales do not have the level of accuracy or precision to work out the precise amount to 2 decimal places or 1 decimal place.
ie. 5-pound slab of pork belly for bacon
1.134g per pound of meat
5 x 1.134 = 5.67 grams of pink curing salt for 5 pounds of pork belly
When you have an accuracy of 0.1 or 0.01 grams (check out the scales you need here), you can finally work out exactly the amount of saltiness you want in your cured meats. Whether it’s bacon or pastrami, this was a game-changer, so I decided to come up with this helpful calculator.
For Wet Brining, Using Equilibrium Brining
A ratio of 0.25% pink curing salt to the total weight of the meat & the water (1 kilogram = 1 Liter, easier with the metric system to do this).
I am going to use the metric system since it’s easier:
1 gram (1,000gram=1kg) = 1 milliliter (1,000ml=1 Liter)
ie. 5 kilograms (5,000g) of pork belly for bacon in a wet brine
Pork Belly 5kg + Water 4L /4kg = 9kg or 9,000g
If I wanted to use a 2.5% total salt level for flavor (a bit salty for most people)
2.25% sea salt x 9,000 = 202.5g of salt for the brine
0.25% Pink Curing Salt No. 1 = 22.5 grams of pink curing salt
So for % of spices or sugar, you add this on top of the above
say plus 1% sugar, 0.01 x 9,000 = 90 gram of sugar
You would dissolve it all and have brine, which can be varied to ‘choose’ your level of saltiness or sweetness! in your bacon!
The other benefit is that it doesn’t matter if you leave the pork belly in for 1 week or 2. It won’t overdo the saltiness!
For those of you concerned about reaching the right salt and pink salt levels, you could use a technique called equilibrium brining, which I first read about in Nathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine. To do this, combine the weight of the meat and the weight of the water, then add 2% of that weight in salt, and 0.25% pink salt, in addition to aromatics. This can cure from seven days up to twenty-one days (and maybe longer). This way you will never have bacon that’s too salty
https://ruhlman.com/homemade-bacon/
Ingredients in Curing Salts
Pink Curing Salt No.1 (Under 30 Days Curing)
- 93.75% Salt (Sodium Chloride)
- 6.25% Sodium Nitrite
Pink Curing Salt No. 2 (Over 30 Days Curing)
- 89.75% Salt (Sodium Chloride)
- 6.25% Sodium Nitrite
- 4.0% Sodium Nitrate
Pink Curing Salt & Tender Quick are Completely Different
Morton Tender Quick
- Salt & Sugar
- 0.5% Sodium Nitrite
- 0.5% Sodium Nitrate
I don’t use tender quick, because I don’t know how much sugar is in it exactly.
Just note, it is not a tenderizer, the name is confusing – it is a curing salt that serves as a preserver.
I know guys who make wet brines from tender quick (a product mainly available in the USA). For wet brining bacon, for instance, they use 50 grams of tender quick per 1 Liter of water. It also has quite a few other ingredients, but not what I prefer to use.
Don’t Measure with Teaspoons
Specifically, a level teaspoon is meant to be = 4.2g (depending on the teaspoon!)
Which is inaccurate, it can be used – results will vary.
But how many people use accurate level teaspoons, since teaspoons vary a lot also.
Different Styles of Meat Curing
- Salt Dry Curing
- Salt Dry Curing, then Cold Smoking
- Salt Dry Curing, then Hot Smoking
You can also Wet Equilibrium Brine using any of the above methods. However, some people prefer wet or dry curing. I always find dry curing creates more depth of flavor, especially with the spices and flavors you use.
Tom Mueller
For decades, immersed in studying, working, learning, and teaching the craft of meat curing, sharing the passion and showcasing the world of charcuterie and smoked meat. Read More