BreakDown of Nitrite PPM per Gallon Brine (brine includes Water, Cure, Salt, Sugar)

The following is for a BASIC BRINE for Pork and Beef Muscle Brining (Ham, Bacon, Brisketetc) not Poultry. The current USDA Minimum is 125ppm and Maximum is 200ppm Nitrite for Brined/Pickled Meats that are spraypumped WITH 10% brine of their initial weight [aka green weight]). Currently our recommendation of 3 oz Cure#1 per gallon of Water yields 140ppm nitrite o 4 oz yields 188ppm... 3 & 4 oz ARE CORRECT and SAFE AMOUNTS! *USDA Processing Inspectors' Calculations Handbook, page 7: Nitrite x 10% pump x 1,000,000 / weight of brine = ppm First you need to find out how much Sodium Nitrite is in a specific amount of Cure. Let's say that we want to use 3oz of InstaCure#1. You have to find what 3 oz is in LBS, this is done by dividing 3 by 16 (because there are 16 ozs in a pound), this comes to 0.1875 lbs. Cure #1 has 6.25% Sodium Nitrite. So, to find out how much Nitrite is in that 0.1875 lbs of Cure, multiply 0.1875 by that percentage as a decimal 0.1875 x 0.0625 = 0.01171 lbs Sodium Nitrite in 3 oz Cure. The weight of brine is simply how heavy the water/brine is One gallon of water weighs approximately 8.33 lbs. Now to find the Parts Per Million (ppm), here is the formula: multiply nitrites by % pump by 1,000,000 and DIVIDE it by the weight of your brine.

Here is the ppm formula for 3 oz Cure#1:

Nitrite x 10% pump x 1,000,000 / weight of brine = parts per million 0.01171 x 0.10 x 1,000,000 / 8.33 = ppm 0.001171 x 1,000,000 / 8.33 = ppm 1171 / 8.33 = ppm

140 ppm nitrite in 1 gallon of water when using 3 oz of Cure#1. Here is the ppm formula for 4 oz Cure#1:
Nitrite in 4 oz Cure #1 = (4/16) x 0.0625 = 0.015625 Nitrite x 10% pump x 1,000,000 / weight of brine = parts per million 0.015625 x 0.10 x 1,000,000 / 8.33 = ppm 0.0015625 x 1,000,000 / 8.33 = ppm 1562.5 / 8.33 = ppm

188 ppm nitrite in 1 gallon of water when using 4 oz of Cure#1.

Minimum allowed by USDA is 125ppm for any useful curing action and maximum being 200ppm, remember that for a proper brine you will also need to have the correct amount of salt/sugar in the solution. A pork ham, will need to soak in a brine that is also about 60 degrees salinity so the base formula for your brine, so that it is at this level with the correct nitrite ppm will be: 1 gallon water 4 oz (1/2 cup) Cure #1 1 lb 5 oz (1 cup) Salt 1.5 oz (2 Tbsp) Sugar This is a proportionate formula to the amount of water / nitrite, if you need half the amount of brine then cut all ingredients in half... if need twice the amount, multiple by 2. While salt, sugar and other ingredient amounts may be adjusted, proper curing time and amount Cure#1 must be followed.