5 Best Curing Salt Blends For Bacon for Home Curing

There’s nothing quite like pulling a slab of your own cured bacon from the smoker. That first slice, sizzling in a cast-iron skillet, is the payoff for patience and care. But before you get there, you face the most critical decision: choosing the right curing salt.

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Understanding Curing Salts: Prague Powder #1 vs #2

The first thing to get straight is that "curing salt" isn’t just salt. It’s a carefully balanced mixture of regular salt and sodium nitrite, a compound that is absolutely essential for preventing the growth of Clostridium botulinum—the bacteria that causes botulism. The pink color is added intentionally as a safety measure, so you never mistake it for table salt.

The two most common types you’ll encounter are Prague Powder #1 and Prague Powder #2. For bacon, you need Prague Powder #1 (PP#1). It contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and is designed for meats that will be cured for a relatively short time and then cooked, like bacon, ham, or corned beef. The nitrite does its job preventing spoilage during the cure and is largely dissipated by the heat of cooking.

Prague Powder #2 (PP#2), on the other hand, is for long-term dry curing projects like salami or prosciutto that are never cooked. It contains both sodium nitrite for the initial cure and sodium nitrate, which slowly breaks down into nitrite over many weeks or months, providing extended protection. Using PP#2 for bacon is incorrect and unsafe, as the nitrate won’t have time to convert properly. Think of it this way: PP#1 is for a sprint, and PP#2 is for a marathon. Bacon is a sprint.

Anthony’s Pink Curing Salt #1 for Classic Bacon

When you’re just starting out or making a few pork bellies a season, Anthony’s Pink Curing Salt #1 is a fantastic choice. It’s a pure, no-nonsense Prague Powder #1 that gives you a reliable and consistent foundation for your cure. There are no extra seasonings or sugars, which is exactly what you want when you’re developing your own recipes.

This product is all about control. Because it’s just the essential curing agent, you get to decide the exact amount of salt, black pepper, maple sugar, or anything else you want to add. It’s the blank canvas for your bacon masterpiece. Its wide availability and typical one or two-pound packaging mean you can buy what you need without committing to a massive bag that might sit in your pantry for years. For most home bacon makers, this is the gold standard.

Hoosier Hill Farm Prague Powder for Bulk Curing

If you’ve moved from curing a single pork belly to processing a whole hog, your needs change. Buying curing salt in one-pound bags gets expensive and inefficient fast. This is where a brand like Hoosier Hill Farm comes in, offering the same standard Prague Powder #1 but in larger, more economical quantities.

The product itself is identical in function to smaller-batch brands—it’s the scale that’s different. Opting for a five-pound bag significantly lowers your cost per ounce, which matters when you’re curing dozens of pounds of meat for bacon, hams, and sausages all at once. The main tradeoff is storage. You absolutely must keep it in a sealed, airtight container, clearly labeled, and stored well away from your regular kitchen salt and spices to prevent a dangerous mix-up. This is the practical choice for the serious hobbyist who has their process dialed in.

Morton Tender Quick: A Versatile Curing Mix

You’ll find Morton Tender Quick in many grocery stores, making it one of the most accessible options out there. It’s important to understand that this is not pure Prague Powder. It’s a curing mix that contains salt, sugar, and a smaller concentration of both sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate.

Its main advantage is simplicity. The all-in-one blend takes a lot of the initial calculation out of the equation, which can feel less intimidating for a complete beginner. The instructions are straightforward, and it can be used for both dry rubs and wet brines. However, that convenience comes at a cost: you lose control over your recipe. You can’t adjust the salt-to-sugar ratio or create a cure that isn’t sweet. For many, this is a gateway product; it gets them started, but they soon graduate to a pure Prague Powder #1 to gain full creative freedom over their bacon’s final flavor.

LEM Products Backwoods Cure for Consistent Flavor

Sometimes you don’t want to reinvent the wheel; you just want reliably delicious bacon. LEM Products and their Backwoods line of cures are designed for exactly that. These are pre-blended cures that include not only the Prague Powder #1 but also all the salt, sugar, and seasonings for a specific flavor profile, like Maple or Cracked Pepper.

This is the ultimate plug-and-play option. You simply weigh the required amount of the complete mix, apply it to your pork belly, and you’re done. It’s perfect for busy homesteaders who want a consistent, crowd-pleasing result every time without the fuss of measuring out five or six different spices. The tradeoff, of course, is customization. You’re buying into the LEM flavor profile. But if you find one you love, it’s an incredibly efficient way to produce high-quality cured meats.

The Sausage Maker’s Insta Cure No. 1 Blend

The Sausage Maker is one of the oldest and most respected names in the game, and their Insta Cure No. 1 is a direct equivalent to other Prague Powder #1 products. Their long-standing reputation provides a deep level of trust; you know their blend is precise and safe, which is paramount when you’re dealing with curing.

Functionally, there is no difference between Insta Cure No. 1 and other reputable PP#1 brands like Anthony’s or Hoosier Hill. The decision often comes down to brand loyalty, availability, or simply which one you tried first and had good results with. Including it here underscores a key point: as long as you are buying Prague Powder #1 / Insta Cure No. 1 from a reputable supplier, the specific brand is less important than using the correct type of cure and measuring it accurately.

Calculating and Applying Your Bacon Cure Correctly

This is the most important part of the process, where precision is not optional. You must always weigh your curing salt with a digital scale. Measuring by volume, like with a teaspoon, is dangerously inaccurate due to variations in grain size and how it’s packed. A small error can mean the difference between perfectly cured bacon and an unsafe product.

The standard industry guideline for a dry cure is one level teaspoon (about 4-5 grams) of Prague Powder #1 for every 5 pounds of meat. To be even more precise, many recipes call for a percentage of the meat’s weight, typically 0.25% Prague Powder #1. For a 5-pound (2270g) pork belly, this would be 5.7 grams of cure. This small amount of PP#1 is then mixed thoroughly with your salt, sugar, and other dry seasonings before being rubbed onto the meat.

Once you have your complete cure mix, rub it evenly over every surface of the pork belly. Pay special attention to the corners and edges. Place the belly in a large, food-safe zip-top bag or a non-reactive container, press out the air, and refrigerate it for 5 to 7 days, flipping it over once a day to redistribute the brine that will form.

Safe Handling and Storage of Curing Salt Blends

Treat your pink curing salt with respect. It is dyed pink for a very good reason: to ensure no one ever mistakes it for table salt or sugar and uses it improperly. Ingesting even a small amount directly can be toxic, so safety and proper storage are non-negotiable.

Always keep your curing salt in its original, clearly labeled container. Store it on a high shelf in your pantry or workshop, far away from your everyday cooking ingredients. A good rule of thumb is to store it with other food preservation supplies, not with your spice rack. This simple separation prevents catastrophic kitchen accidents.

Curing salt is extremely shelf-stable and won’t "go bad" in the traditional sense. However, it is hygroscopic, meaning it will absorb moisture from the air and can become a solid clump if not sealed properly. If this happens, you can usually break it up with no loss of effectiveness. The real danger isn’t spoilage; it’s misuse. Label it, isolate it, and respect what it does.

Choosing the right cure is the first step on a rewarding journey. Whether you opt for a basic Prague Powder to craft your own recipe or a pre-mixed blend for convenience, the key is to measure accurately and handle it safely. Once you master that foundation, a world of custom-cured, smoky, delicious bacon is yours to create.