Making sausage: pink salt vs. saltpeter

I've done some poking around in "Charcuterie" and online to find a definitive answer about using saltpeter (potassium nitrate) versus pink salt, but I'm coming up empty.

I will be making a few different sausages Saturday, including longanisa, a Filipino sausage. The friend who gave me the recipe said that the original recipe called for saltpeter.

As far as I can tell, saltpeter isn't the way to go (or readily available), so I'm wondering if I should just use pink salt to be safe. And, if I DO use the pink salt, what proportion should I use? The same amount as the saltpeter called for in the recipe?

The recipe doesn't mention the need for any kind of extended curing (just overnight in an airtight container), and the sausage will not be smoked, so I'm also wondering if I can just omit the curing salt/pink salt/saltpeter altogether.

Any thoughts from the sausage-makers here?

Saltpeter is available, but is not the best choice for curing. The FDA has banned it in commercial cures for many years.

Bill/SFNM

Should I just substitute with pink salt, or leave it out completely since the sausage won't be cured or smoked? (It'll stay refrigerated or frozen or be cooked and eaten immediately.)

The general rule of thumb for curing salt (Prague Powder #1) is 2 teaspoons per 10 pounds of meat. This applies to smoked and cooked sausages, not dry-cured, uncooked sausage. If you aren't going to smoke and these sausages will be cooked and never in the danger zone for food-borne illness, then there may be no reason to use curing salt. You may want to adjust the total amount of salt to compensate.

Bill/SFNM

HI,

I was just at Bass Pro Shop in Gurnee. I checked their sausage supplies area to find a lot of mixes, books on sausage making, meat grinders, stuffers and some casings. What was not evident initially was pink salt.

After being assured they did not have pink salt, I found a packet of L.E.M. (Let's eat meat???) cure which had 6.25% sodium nitrate at $1.99 for 4 ounces. Since nobody in store knew if this was what I needed and I wasn't 100% sure myself. I called the company who advised it was the equivalent of insta-cure though they weren't sure it was pink salt. I had a new receptionist who needed more instruction. I bought it, then checked Charcuterie at home to learn it is the very product I am looking for: pink salt as long as it has the 6.25% sodium nitrate and 93.75% salt.

L.E.M.
107 May Drive
Harrison, OH 45030
Tel: 877/536-7763
www.lemproducts.com

Regards,

I picked up pink salt at Paulina Market a while back, but it's a Spice House product. I've decided to skip using it this time around, as I'm only making fresh sausage that will stay refrigerated or frozen 'til eaten.

Don't know if we're being too ambitious, but so far we have four recipes to try out: the Fillipino longaniza, a Swedish potato sausage, the secret family recipe and Aidell's Asian pork.

I now use Morton's Tender Quick, which is a blend of salt, sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, for all my curing needs. According to the Morton tech reps, it is effective down to the ratio of 1/3cup/10lbs of meat. But don't use any other salt!

Geo

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewt ... 7d54635117

scroll down to the end of the page for the quoted Morton comment.