Cure PPM Calculator (Cure #1 / Cure #2)

Calculate how much curing salt to use to reach a chosen target nitrite level (ppm). Works for dry/equilibrium cures, immersion brines, and injection cures.

Important: This tool is for educational and home-culinary planning. Regulatory limits vary by product and jurisdiction. Use your own judgment, consult authoritative sources, and follow safe handling. See Meat Safety & Storage.

Global Settings

Both use 6.25% sodium nitrite; Cure #2 also contains nitrate for long/air-dried cures.
We’ll also show an approximate tsp amount using this value.

Dry / Equilibrium (No Pump)

Target nitrite in the total product mass. Common presets (for reference only): 120–156 ppm.

Enter weight in kg or lb.
0 for dry rub; or include water mass for EQ brine model.

Equilibrium Brine (Immersion)

Model assumes nitrite distributes across meat + brine mass at equilibrium.

e.g., 0.4 kg water for 2.0 kg meat (20%).

Pump / Injection

We compute required cure in the injected brine to deliver your target ppm based on pump %.

Need salt/sugar for the injection brine? Use the Brine & Injection Calculator.

Assumptions & Formulas:
  • ppm means mg nitrite per kg of product. Cure #1/#2 contain ~6.25% nitrite; nitrite (g) = cure (g) × 0.0625.
  • Dry/EQ: target ppm × total mass (meat + any added water). Pump: we compute cure concentration in the injectate so that nitrite delivered equals target ppm × meat mass.
  • Tsp conversion is approximate; weigh for accuracy.