Salt Question

[rcger]

A sausage recipe I often use calls for 6 TBS salt.  I have 2 questions regarding this...First, can I use Coarse Ground Kosher salt?  Secondly, can I use Pickling Salt?  Neither contains iodine.

[Kahunas]

Yup. I like to add a bit less than called for in recipes and cook a small amount to taste before adding more.

[rcger]

Yup. I like to add a bit less than called for in recipes and cook a small amount to taste before adding more.

But, can I use either type of salt?

[iceman]

You can use either one. Kosher salt needs to be ground up in order for it to distribute in the sausage better. Kosher salt has a less "salty taste" to it. Measure it then grind it or dissolve in water before adding to the meat. I don't have time to look it up but there is a salt chart floating around that tells you the amounts to use depending on the type of salt you choose. I think Hab posted it awhile back but then again the old BB don't remember so good anymore.  ;D

[Kevin A]

6 tbl kosher is not the same as 6 tbl of non-kosher salt.
That's why I always weigh salt.
If a recipe calls from 6 tbls regular non-iodized salt, I'll weigh that particular amount & use the same weight in kosher. different volume; same weight.

Kevin

[rcger]

Thanks everyone for your responses.  Ice, I actually found the document you were referencing.  I've saved it.  It will be a great reference.

[pmmpete]

Salt is salt, but different kinds and brands of salt have different densities.  If you check the volume-to-weight conversion tables for salt in various books and internet sites, you get a pretty wide range of weights for a cup of regular table salt.  10 oz./cup is about in the middle of the range of weights for table salt.  "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas lists a weight of 1 oz./1.5 tbsp (i.e. 10.7 oz./cup) for "purified" salt, whatever that is.  Warren Anderson's book "Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage" lists weights of 22 grams/tbsp (i.e. 12.4 oz./cup) for regular salt and 12 grams/tbsp (i.e. 6.8 oz./cup) for kosher salt.  Convert-to.com lists a weight of 9.63 oz./cup for table salt.  Derrick Riches lists weights of 10 oz./cup for table salt, 7.5 oz./cup for Morton kosher salt, and 5 oz./cup for Diamond kosher salt at http://bbq.about.com/od/spicesseasonings/a/aa102007a.htm .  amazingribs.com contains the following conversion table for different kinds of salt:

1 tsp Morton's tables salt equals:
1.5 tsp Morton's kosher salt
1.8 tsp Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
1.8 tsp Morton's pickling salt
3 to 4 or more tsp sea salt

Kevin A's suggestion is good.  He suggested that if a recipe calls for 6 tablespoons of table salt, but for some reason you want to use kosher salt, then you could weigh 6 tablespoons of table salt, and then use the same weight of kosher salt.  However, it isn't a perfect solution, because different brands of table salt will also have different densities. 

[Habanero Smoker]

I have to question the below chart:

1 tsp Morton's tables salt equals:
1.5 tsp Morton's kosher salt
1.8 tsp Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
1.8 tsp Morton's pickling salt
3 to 4 or more tsp sea salt

Morton's table salt is the same crystal size at Morton's pickling salt. According to the above chart, it would have to be the same crystal size as Diamond Crystal Kosher, and it is not. The only difference between Morton's table salt and their pickling salt is the pickling salt is free of additives. So the two measure the same. It is a small grain to make it easier to dissolve when you are making brines. The rest seem fairly accurate. Most commercially process salts are considered purified, before additive(s) are mixed in. Pickling salt is a purified salt (pure salt with no additive or other minerals).

My theory on why some salts taste saltier then others; I believe because a smaller grain salt dissolves faster, it may seem that the larger crystal salts that dissolve slowly are less salty. If you every use popcorn salt, a very fine grain salt, you will notice how much saltier it tastes compared to table salt.

[Chef57]

Really Iceman?  You find Kosher salt less salty?   ???  I find it stronger than sea salt or table salt so I always cut it back a bit.  Must be my Scandahoovien ancestry  :D   Maybe because I don't grind it up first I get chunks of salt so think it is saltier?  Could be my taste buds after years of smoking (and I don't mean meat!) and consuming copious amounts of demon rum...