Curing salt for jerky
A little nitrite is a safeguard; too much is dangerous. Measure, don't eyeball.
Sodium nitrite is poisonous in larger amounts and is dyed pink so it's never confused with table salt. Always measure to the recommended rate by weight, keep it away from children, and never increase "for safety."
Many jerky recipes call for a small amount of curing salt. It isn't a substitute for the heat step — it's an added safeguard that inhibits Clostridium botulinum and other bacteria, helps preserve color and flavor, and provides margin during drying. The most common product for jerky is Prague Powder #1 (also sold as Insta Cure #1 or pink curing salt #1), which is 6.25% sodium nitrite in regular salt.
The standard use rate
Prague Powder #1 is dosed by the weight of meat. The widely used home rate is about 1 level teaspoon (≈5.6 g) per 5 lb (2.27 kg) of meat, which lands near the 156 ppm ingoing-nitrite target used in cured-meat practice.
| Meat weight | Prague Powder #1 |
|---|---|
| 1 lb | ~0.2 tsp (1.1 g) |
| 2.5 lb | ~0.5 tsp (2.8 g) |
| 5 lb | 1 tsp (5.6 g) |
Measuring by weight on a gram scale is far more reliable than spoons, especially for small batches where a fraction of a teaspoon is hard to judge.
#1 vs #2. Use Prague Powder #1 for jerky and any product that's cooked or eaten in a short time. Prague Powder #2 (which also contains nitrate) is for long, dry-cured products like salami — not jerky.
Cure does not replace the heat step
Even with curing salt, USDA's kill-step still applies: heat the meat to 160°F (165°F for poultry). Think of cure and heat as two layers — the cure adds margin and shelf stability, the heat step destroys pathogens. Use both for ground-meat jerky in particular.
Gear this guide uses
The two things that make curing precise and safe: the right cure salt, and a way to measure it and the kill step.
- The standard cure for jerky is Prague Powder #1 (pink curing salt) — 6.25% sodium nitrite, used at the rate above.
- For small batches a fraction of a teaspoon is hard to judge, so weigh the cure on a 0.1 g precision gram scale.
- Cure doesn't replace the heat step — verify the 160°F/165°F internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
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Sources
Measure curing salt precisely by weight. This guide is educational and not a substitute for food-safety authorities.