Hey guys, I'm currently trying to cure some pork in order to make bacon. The recipe I'm following calls for "pink salt" and I'm wondering if regular table salt will work. From what I've been told, the meat needs to be cured for at least a week or two. Will it last as long if I use normal salt, and will it make much of a difference? thanks!

Why not just get pink salt if that’s what it calls for?

I think the curing pink salt is called tenderquick. Not many grocers carry it though.

2 totally different items

mortens quick cure can be used in place of pink salt some say

google bacon cure recipes and fourms

good read here

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/calculating-bacon-cure-time-using-morton%c2%ae-tender-quick%c2%ae-or-sugar-cure%c2%ae-plain-or-smoke-flavored.151439/

Walmart's website shows a 1lb bag for $3.98

I wouldn't chance curing meat with table salt. I have used mortens tender quick with great results.

When you use tender quick to the quantities listed most places I have read, you end up with saltier bacon, then with pink salt. I make cottage bacon out of pork butts. I do about 1 a month and have been for about 4 years. You can also buy bacon cure premixed.

Pink salt also called insta-cure #1, or Prague powder, is salt with sodium nitrite. Morton quick cure is salt with pink salt in it. The sodium nitrite prevents bacterial growth, and it's what makes cured meat pink/red instead of gray/brown when cooked... think about the color difference between a piece of ham and a pork chop. The pink color comes from the nitrites, curing with salt alone will work, but you won't get the color. The color doesn't one from the pink eye in the salt either, it comes from the nitrites. You likely won't find pink salt/insta-cure #1 in a grocery store, the pink salt at the store is just regular salt. You'll probably have to order it online

Most any cure recipe will call for table salt, plus a small amount of pink salt. The recipe I use to cure hams calls for a cup of salt plus 2 tablespoons of pink salt per gallon of water.

Pink salt, aka instacure #1, prague powder #1. Do not use table salt. it should be weighed on a gram scale, x grams per weight of meat in pounds,
Search for a good recipe from legitimate source, most butcher supply sites will have the product and the instructions for using it.
the cure can be used dry, mixed with salt and sugar, or wet in a brine.
Always follow the directions carefully, botulism ain't no joke

A bunch of info on curing meat with info on pink salt.......curing meats