Sodium Nitrite

Seems to be widely accepted that Sodium Benzoate is the go to for bait preservative.

Well tonight I was making some snack sticks from an elk I killed a few months back. The kit includes some “cure” that I assume is sodium nitrite. Has anyone ever used this successfully in lure? Seems to be the standard for curing meats so see no reason it wouldn’t work for trapping baits?

Meats cured with Sodium Nitrite, commonly called Prague powder #1, still have to be cooked or smoked to cure. Sodium Nitrate (Prague powder #2) is for dry curing meats like pepperoni and hard salami. I don’t know anything about using it for preserving baits in the way you would use Sodium Benzoate, but of the two, I’d think you would want Sodium Nitrate vs the Sodium Nitrite you use for your snack sticks.

Sodium Nitrate will dry out meat it is used in, aka hard pepperoni or salami. I have used it when making uncooked sausage before. I would imagine it would do the same to baits, creating a hard, dry bait, not usually the type of bait most are looking for.