Salt % with cure timeline and humidity - including the food-safety line between safe home curing and risky experiments.
Enter meat weight, fat ratio, cure method, and humidity. The card gives salt, sugar, wine, lean/fat split, and days.
Chinese sausage recipes vary 2x in salt percentage. Without nitrite cure, air-drying at home is unsafe. Most online tutorials ignore this and produce sausages that smell fine but harbor botulism risk.
Anyone attempting Chinese sausage for the first time. Cooks confused by the safety warnings vs the no-nitrite recipes online. People preserving meat from a hunt.
Cure #2 (sodium nitrite, dyed pink) is what gives cured meat its characteristic color AND its safety. Pink Himalayan salt contains trace nitrite but not enough. Buy cure #2 from a butcher-supply shop. The "Quick cure + refrigeration" option does not require nitrite because the sausage is refrigerated and eaten within a week.
Indoor humidity is hard to control. A small dehumidifier helps. 80% humidity is risky - if you see fuzzy mold growing, discard. A small amount of white surface mold is harmless; wipe with vinegar.
Can I skip nitrite? No for air-dried sausage. Yes only for sausage you cook immediately and refrigerate.
Where to buy casings? Butcher or online sausage supply. Hog casings for traditional; collagen for easier handling.
Why pink even after cooking? That's the nitrite doing its job - it's the color, not undercooking.