What Is Saltpeter and How Can I Use It?

Saltpeter is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 7 recipes to get you started.

Recipes using saltpeter

There are 7 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Honey Cure for Ham

Traditional British honey-cured ham using salt, saltpeter, pepper, and honey rubbed and turned daily for a month before hanging to dry. An old-fashioned whole-ham curing method for serious charcuterie.

Pickled or Corned Beef or Venison

Pickled or corned beef (or venison): a traditional barrel-cure brine for beef or wild game using salt, saltpeter, and molasses. Old-fashioned homesteader method for preserving large cuts.

Pastramized Beef

Homemade pastrami from beef brisket cured for 3 weeks with salt, pickling spices, and black pepper, then smoked low and slow. A true from-scratch charcuterie project.

Pickled Meats

Old-fashioned pickled beef tongue or pork cured with salt, pickling spices, brown sugar, and garlic. Dry-rubbed and refrigerated for weeks, then simmered low and slow until fork-tender.

Best Corned Beef

Best corned beef cures your own brisket from scratch in a spiced salt brine, then simmers it tender. Real-deal homemade corned beef with garlic and pickling spice, far better than anything from a packet.

The Mavin's Way To Pickle Beef or Tongue

Old-world pickled beef brisket or tongue brined for 19 days with garlic, bay leaves, and pickling spices. A traditional Jewish deli-style corned beef you can make at home from scratch.

Hungarian Sausage

Hungarian sausage (kolbász) is a home-smoked paprika and garlic sausage made from coarsely ground pork shoulder, beef chuck, and pork fat stuffed into natural casings, cold-smoked and air-dried for two days.

All 7 recipes