Curing without prague powder?

[Henrik]

Hi all,

I've been testing the curing calculator a few times. But I've yet to cure something because of one hangup: I don't have prague powder, and (in Sweden) it's hard to get. It annoys me, surely I must be able to cure meat with distilled water and salt only?

What say you, pit members? What does the prague powder add? Can I do without it?

[RonB]

Prague Powder contains 6.25% sodium nitrite - the rest is nacl, so if you can get the nitrite, you should be able to mix your own. I believe the color is only so you can tell it from table salt.

Edit to add that sodium nitrite is readily available on (US) amazon. And if you do find it, make sure it is food grade.

[Huskee]

Salt & water is just brining. You could try celery juice if it's available.

[Ahumadora]

If you are curing bacon/meat without nitrite it will end up grey and not pink/red. Also potentially exposing yourself to botulism. Can you order a jar off Amazon? I bought a jar from there and has lasted me 3 years.

[Troutman]

Agree it’s readily available on Amazon, that should solve your problem.

[aladdin4d]

Search for Nitritsalt or nitrite pickling salt. The nitrite percentage may be different, I'm not sure, but it is a nitrite curing salt just like Prague powder #1. Nordic Salts seems to be a Swedish producer

https://nordicsalts.com/produkter/livsmedelssalt/

And I would think you could find Esco products from a German source st least if not actually a Swedish one.

https://www.esco-salt.com/en/products/nutrition/nitrite-pickling-salt/

[CaptainMike]

Or I could buy a jar, ship it to you as personal mail, and maybe trade for a little Hank's Bonafide Beef Rub with Authentic Llama and Mango dusts.

[Henrik]

That Authentic Llama got you hooked good, didn't it? ;-) Many thanks for the kind offer.

[Henrik]

Thanks all for your contributions. So I think I got my question(s) answered. As Huskee said, salt+water is just a brine. Didn't think of that. And the prague powder is for adding nitrite, which adds color and helps prevent botulism. So, I'm gonna have to do some online shopping (Amazon). Today is a good day, I learned something new. I like that.

[Jerod Broussard]

Keep in mind NiTRATE is for longer processes that require a longer, steady supply of NiTRITE.

[Spinaker]

LMK if you want me to send you some. Not a big deal to do.

[Henrik]

Thanks buddy!