Cure #1 vs Cure #2: which curing salt for sausage
What's in them
| Product | Sodium nitrite | Sodium nitrate | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cure #1 (Prague Powder #1) | 6.25% | none | Smoked and cooked sausage, bacon, ham |
| Cure #2 (Prague Powder #2) | 6.25% | about 4% | Dry-cured salami, whole muscles cured for weeks |
| European curing salt | 0.5–0.6% | none | The same jobs as Cure #1, sold already mixed with salt |
The rest of each product is salt. Both cures are dyed pink so nobody puts them in a salt shaker by mistake, which is why you'll see them sold as "pink curing salt".
Why the nitrate matters
Nitrite works straight away. That suits a sausage that's mixed, smoked and cooked within a day or two. Nitrate does nothing until bacteria in the meat turn it into nitrite, which happens slowly. In a salami hanging for six weeks, that slow release keeps protecting the meat long after the first dose of nitrite is used up. In a sausage that's cooked tomorrow, the nitrate has no time to do anything useful, and you've added it for nothing.
Pink salt is not Himalayan salt
This catches people every year. "Pink salt" in a sausage recipe means Cure #1. Himalayan pink salt is ordinary rock salt with a bit of iron in it and contains no curing nitrite. Using it in a low-and-slow smoked sausage leaves the sausage uncured.
Celery powder and "uncured" products
Products labelled "uncured" or "no added nitrites" usually use celery powder, which is naturally high in nitrate. It still cures, the nitrite just comes from a vegetable. The trouble for home use is that the amount varies from batch to batch, so you can't work out the dose the way you can with Cure #1. Linkulator only calculates Cure #1 and European curing salt.
How much to use
For Cure #1 in smoked sausage, see the curing salt guide: up to about 2.5 g per kg under US rules, less in Ireland and the EU. Cure #2 is used at a similar rate but only in a dry-curing recipe that tells you to, with controlled temperature and humidity. If you're new to curing, start with smoked sausage and Cure #1.
FAQ
Can I use Cure #2 instead of Cure #1?
Not for smoked and cooked sausage. Cure #2 contains nitrate meant for long dry curing, which a sausage cooked the next day doesn't need.
Is pink salt the same as Himalayan salt?
No. In sausage recipes pink salt means Cure #1, which contains 6.25% sodium nitrite. Himalayan pink salt contains no curing nitrite.
Is Prague Powder the same as Cure #1?
Yes. Prague Powder #1 and Cure #1 are names for the same blend of salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite.
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Updated: 2026-10-21