salt versus versus salty ingreients

[just a smokin]

    when doing smoking , can a person smoke with SOME salt and then use the other salty ingredients as the same, instead of adding say the Morton powder or prauge powder .I do hope that this is under stand-able to what i am asking.

  thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

Do you mean adding additional salts as a substitution for one of the curing salt?

You can cure with salt only, but the end product may be too salty for one's taste. The formula for a wet brine would be a 10% salt solution or greater to protect from bacteria that causes botulism. I'm not sure what the percentage of salt per pound is needed in a dry brine (cure)

It would be  helpful if you give some examples of what you what to smoke. Everything you smoke in the Bradley doesn't require a cure; such as Morton or Prague powder. Depending on the source, as long as you are cooking at 180°F or higher, you don't need to cure the food. I believe the USDA states to cook no lower than 200°F.

[just a smokin]

    i was talking about jerky ,where i usually smoke at around 160-170.i mean i have never used this before .. just added some salt and kept going.. hope this makes sense, my other usual things are above 225-275

thank you

[Habanero Smoker]

I don't use a cure when I make whole muscle jerky, unless I'm looking for that particular flavor that nitrites impart in the jerky. Ground muscle jerky, I always use cure #1. When not using a cure #1, the amount of salt contained in the jerky marinade is important. The below link from the USDA, describes the safest way to make jerky to ensure it is completely safe. Notice that no where's in the article does it mention you need to add a nitrite, but they do recommend bringing the jerky up to 160°F prior to dehydrating at 130°F - 140°F.

Jerky and Food Safety