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Bacon Cure Ratio
A common dry-cure sketch is 2.5% salt, 1.25% sugar, and 0.25% Cure No. 1 by meat weight. This is not a licensed plant process.
Reviewed September 2026
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This is not a licensed FSIS bacon process
Home curing can sicken people. Wrong nitrite is toxic. This page multiplies pork-belly weight by three kitchen percents so you can read a dry-cure sketch: salt 2.5%, sugar 1.25%, and Cure No. 1 0.25% of meat weight. It is an arithmetic aid. It is not USDA FSIS inspection, not a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan, and not permission to sell or serve bacon as if it came from an inspected plant.
If you are not already trained on restricted ingredients, buy bacon that carries a USDA mark of inspection. FSIS explains how commercial bacon is pumped, dry-cured, or immersion-cured, how much nitrite may go in, and how to store and cook the product you bring home. That inspected path exists because nitrite dose, time, temperature, and labeling are easy to get wrong in a home kitchen.
How to use this page (and when not to)
Enter the belly weight in grams. The widget returns salt, sugar, and Cure No. 1 in grams using those three percents. Treat the numbers as a reading check against a published, tested method you already trust. Do not invent a new process from this screen. Do not let children weigh, taste, or “help mix” curing salt.
Cure No. 1 is a commercial blend that is 6.25% sodium nitrite on salt. It is sometimes sold as Prague powder #1 or pink curing salt. It is not Himalayan pink salt, not sea salt with a rose color, and not a spice. FDA rules for household meat-curing preparations require the label to state the additive name, the concentration, directions that keep finished nitrite at or below 200 parts per million, and the words “Keep out of the reach of children.” Lock the jar away from snacks and baking soda. A child who eats a spoonful of nitrite blend can be poisoned.
If the bag on your shelf is Cure No. 2 (nitrite plus nitrate) or a “natural celery” mix with no stated nitrite percent, stop. Those are different products. This formula assumes Cure No. 1 at 6.25% sodium nitrite. Guessing the strength is how people overdose.
The three percents and the nitrite hidden inside them
Salt g = meat g × 0.025. Sugar g = meat g × 0.0125. Cure No. 1 g = meat g × 0.0025. For the default 1000 g belly that is 25 g salt, 12.5 g sugar, and 2.5 g Cure No. 1.
Sodium nitrite in that 2.5 g of Cure No. 1 is 2.5 × 0.0625 = 0.15625 g, which is 156 mg. Spread across 1000 g of meat, that is about 156 ppm ingoing if every milligram stays in the meat. FDA 21 CFR 172.175 limits household curing preparations to directions that keep sodium nitrite at not more than 200 ppm in the finished meat product (and sodium nitrate at not more than 500 ppm when nitrate is used). FSIS plant rules for dry-cured bacon cap ingoing sodium nitrite at 200 ppm (or 246 ppm potassium nitrite). Pumped and immersion bacon are tighter: 120 ppm ingoing nitrite, and pumped bacon also requires 550 ppm sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate to cut nitrosamine formation.
A 156 ppm sketch sits under the 200 ppm dry-cure ceiling only if the blend is truly 6.25% nitrite, the scale is accurate, and you do not add a second nitrite source. The calculator does not measure the finished piece in a lab. Moisture loss during drying concentrates whatever you put in. That is one reason this is not a licensed process.
Widget outputs at the locked percents (Cure No. 1 at 6.25% nitrite)
| Belly | Salt 2.5% | Sugar 1.25% | Cure No. 1 0.25% | Approx. ingoing NaNO2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 12.5 g | 6.3 g | 1.25 g | ~156 ppm |
| 1000 g (default) | 25 g | 12.5 g | 2.5 g | ~156 ppm |
| 2268 g (5 lb) | 56.7 g | 28.4 g | 5.7 g | ~156 ppm |
| 4536 g (10 lb) | 113.4 g | 56.7 g | 11.3 g | ~156 ppm |
Cure No. 1 is mostly salt. Do not double-count blindly
About 93.75% of Cure No. 1 is sodium chloride. The 2.5 g in a 1 kg batch is almost all extra salt on top of the 25 g the formula already listed. Trained processors often fold that into the total salt target. This widget lists the three lines separately so you can see each percent. If you copy the three numbers into a bowl without reading a full method, the belly will be a little saltier than a 2.5% salt-only rub.
Sugar at 1.25% is flavor and browning, not a preservative at this dose. Changing the sugar does not make a nitrite error safe. Leaving nitrite out and calling the result “bacon” is a different product with a different spoilage and botulism profile. FSIS states that nitrite helps delay Clostridium botulinum toxin, sets the cured color, and slows some off-flavors. It is also a restricted ingredient because the same chemistry is dangerous in the wrong amount.
What FSIS allows in plants versus what this screen is
FSIS describes three commercial bacon cures. Pumped bacon injects brine and is held hours, not weeks. Dry-cured bacon is rubbed and may hang for days. Immersion bacon sits in a nitrite brine for a few days. Pumped bacon must include ascorbate or erythorbate. Ingoing nitrite cannot exceed 200 ppm for dry-cured bacon or 120 ppm for pumped and immersion bacon. Finished “bacon” from pork belly also has a yield rule: the ready-to-slice belly must not weigh more than the fresh belly.
A home garage has none of those controls. There is no inspector checking the scale, no approved label, no required erythorbate on a dry rub, and no verified smokehouse recording. People still get foodborne illness from pork that was undercooked or held warm. People also get nitrite poisoning from mis-measured cure. The safer family choice is inspected bacon from the store, then ordinary FSIS handling: refrigerate at 40 °F or below, use raw bacon within 7 days or freeze, never thaw on the counter, and cook until crisp enough that a thin strip has reached a safe temperature.
When nitrite or spoiled meat becomes an emergency
Sodium nitrite in bulk looks like salt. That is the hazard. FDA requires a child-warning line on household curing mixes for that reason. If a child or adult swallows curing salt, call Poison Control or emergency services. Do not wait to see if they “feel fine.” Do not induce vomiting unless a poison specialist tells you to.
Botulism is a different emergency. FSIS describes a neurotoxin so potent that microscopic amounts can kill. Home-canned and poorly processed low-acid meats are historic sources. Double vision, dry mouth, trouble speaking or breathing after eating a home-cured product is not a wait-and-see event. CDC says you cannot taste toxin to check a jar. Throw out food you cannot place in a validated process.
If you buy inspected bacon instead
That is the intended outcome for most households reading this page. FSIS: shop for bacon last, bag it away from ready-to-eat food, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F), and cook from thawed or from frozen. Do not brown strips and park them in the fridge to finish later. Reheat leftovers to 165 °F. Keep cooked leftovers 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Turkey bacon and beef “bacon” follow the same cold-chain rules. They are not pork belly and they do not use this dry-cure sketch.
FSIS also says cooked, cured meat can stay pink from the curing agents even when it is hot enough. Crispness is the practical cue on a thin strip because a probe is hard to seat. That advice is for inspected bacon in a skillet, not a green light to taste raw home-cured belly “to see if the nitrite worked.”
Limits of the grams on the screen
The scale can be wrong by a gram. At 2.5 g of Cure No. 1 per kilogram, a 1 g error is a 40% nitrite error. Use a scale that reads 0.1 g if you are in a trained setting that still uses Cure No. 1. Volume spoons are unacceptable for nitrite.
Thickness, rind-on versus rind-off, fridge temperature, and smoke time are not inputs. FSIS plant calculations distinguish rind-off dry-cured bacon when they apply the 200 ppm cap. This widget does not. It also does not convert salt grams into dietary sodium the way a nutrition calculator would. The salt line is a rub mass, not a Daily Value.
Keep Cure No. 1 away from children. Do not store it next to table salt. This page will not walk through a multi-day home-cure schedule, because a schedule without plant controls is how people get sick.
Plant limits versus this reading-aid sketch
| Rule or number | Who it binds | What it means here |
|---|---|---|
| Cure No. 1 at 0.25% of meat | This widget only | About 156 ppm ingoing NaNO2 if the blend is 6.25% |
| Finished NaNO2 ≤ 200 ppm | FDA 21 CFR 172.175 household directions | A legal ceiling for labeled home mixes, not a target to chase |
| Ingoing NaNO2 ≤ 200 ppm dry-cured bacon | FSIS 9 CFR 424.22 plants | Inspected process with records; not your garage |
| Ingoing NaNO2 ≤ 120 ppm pumped or immersion bacon | FSIS plants | Plus 550 ppm ascorbate or erythorbate on pumped bacon |
| Keep out of the reach of children | FDA household label | Lock the jar. Do not treat it as table salt |
How it works
Cure No. 1 is 6.25% sodium nitrite on salt. Too much nitrite is toxic. If you are not trained, buy inspected bacon.
Frequently asked questions
Can kids help with curing?
No. Keep nitrite blends away from children. Use this page as a reading aid only unless you already follow FSIS rules.
Related calculators
References
- USDA FSIS. Bacon and Food Safety
- USDA FSIS. Additives in Meat and Poultry Products
- FDA / eCFR. 21 CFR 172.175 Sodium nitrite
- USDA FSIS askFSIS. What are nitrites?
- USDA FSIS / eCFR. 9 CFR 424.22 Certain other permitted uses
- USDA FSIS. Clostridium botulinum and Botulism
- CDC. Home-Canned Foods and Botulism
- USDA FSIS. Leftovers and Food Safety
- FoodSafety.gov. 4 Steps to Food Safety
Kitchen tools are estimates for home cooking. Nutrition tools are screening aids, not a diagnosis. They are not a substitute for a pediatrician or registered dietitian. Food-safety temperatures follow USDA FSIS. Do not reuse leftover meat brine.