Curing salts

Curing salt was developed as a cure for meat, poultry, game, and fish. Actual ingredients may vary from brand to brand but typically contain a combination of high grade salt, sugar, both sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, curing agents and propylene glycol to keep the mixture uniform. It is generally dyed a pink color so that it can be easily recognized from regular salts.

Some common curing mixtures:
Cure #1 contains 6.25% Sodium nitrite: 93.75% Salt (for fresh and cooked sausages)
Cure #2 contains 6.25% Sodium nitrite: 4% Sodium nitrate and 89.75% Salt (for dry-cured sausages)
Tender Quick contains 0.5% Sodium nitrite, 0.5% Sodium nitrate, Salt, Sugar, and Propylene glycol (for brined meats)
Saltpeter is 100% Potassium nitrate (not recommended...to difficult to measure in the small quantities needed)

Always use the correct cure according to your recipe, do not substitute.