BUCKHORN CLIFFS

Food · Compound · Curing salt and fertilizer

Sodium Nitrate

A curing salt and fast nitrogen fertilizer that is also a strong oxidizer. It preserves meat and feeds plants.

INDEFINITEHazardousWorks without power

Quick facts

Type
Nitrate oxidizer
Form
White crystals
Hazard class
Oxidizer
Shelf life
Indefinite
Storage
Sealed glass or plastic
What to avoid
  • Heat
  • fuels
  • organics

See everything sodium nitrate must never touch

What it's good for

Meat curing

Curing salt for meat

Fertilizer

Fast nitrogen source

Oxidizer

Strong oxidizer

Preservation

Long-term meat storage

A slow curing nitrate that preserves meat and feeds plants, and it strongly supports combustion.

Good to know

Chile saltpeter, two jobs. Sodium nitrate releases nitrogen for fast green plant growth, and as an oxidizer it readily feeds fire. In curing it works slowly: bacteria turn the nitrate into nitrite, the agent that actually preserves the meat and blocks botulism. It behaves much like its potassium cousin (Chapter 27) but pulls moisture from the air more readily, so it cakes if left open. Cure only with precise, weighed amounts, since the line between preserving meat and over-dosing it is narrow.

Handling and safety

Strong oxidizer

Store it apart from fuels and organics; it feeds fire.

Curing amounts only

Cure meat with precise small doses; excess is unsafe to eat.

Fast nitrogen

It is a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer.

For long storage meats

It helps preserve meats for extended storage.

Recipes for sodium nitrate

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

What is sodium nitrate used for?

Sodium nitrate is a curing salt that preserves meat for long storage and a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer for fast green plant growth. It is also a strong oxidizer that feeds fire. Cure only with precise, weighed amounts, because excess is unsafe to eat.

How long does sodium nitrate last in storage?

Sodium nitrate has an indefinite shelf life. It pulls moisture from the air readily, so it cakes if left open, which is why it should stay sealed.

How do I store sodium nitrate?

Keep it in sealed glass or plastic, since it draws moisture from the air and cakes if left open. It is a strong oxidizer, so store it away from heat, fuels, and organics.

Keep going

Read nextPotassium NitrateSaltpeter. It cures meat, rots out tree stumps, feeds plants, and acts as a versatile oxidizer.Compounds and Cleaning · Compound

Related to this

Food · Formula Meat Curing with Pink Curing Salt Saltpeter cures meat only after bacteria turn it into nitrite, and it is the nitrite that does the work: it blocks the deadly botulism bacteria, fixes the pink cured color, and holds off rancidity. Hazardous Food · Formula Traditional Meat Curing Salt Blend Sodium nitrate is the slow half of a cure: bacteria turn it into nitrite over weeks, and it is the nitrite that guards the meat, which is why nitrate suits long dry-aged hams and salami rather than quick cures. Hazardous Garden and Livestock · Formula Soil Fertilizer for Nitrogen-Deficient Gardens Because sodium nitrate is already in the nitrate form that roots take up directly, it feeds plants the moment it dissolves, with no wait for soil microbes to convert it, which makes it one of the fastest ways to green up a hungry, nitrogen-starved garden. Hazardous Food · Compound Salt Shelf life: indefinite. Use non-iodized salt for every brine. Weigh curing salt. INDEFINITEMULTI-USE
Everything in FoodNever-mix checkerShelf life tableFind a recipe by needWalk-around auditStart here

Membership · $49.95 per year

There is a lot more behind the lock

158member pages in full
125recipes with exact amounts
6field guide PDFs, 206 pages
1manual of your own, built from any page

Every recipe and resource from the Prepper's Chemical Survival Guide, all six field guides to read here and download, the full audit and logbook, all twelve reference charts, and no ads.

My Manual · included

Build your own field manual

The most useful thing a membership gives you. Save any page on this site, recipes, charts, and whole field guides included. Put them in your order, name it, and print one manual with a cover and contents, or keep it as a PDF that opens with no signal.

  • It works when this site does not
  • Only your pages
  • Anyone in the house can use it
  • One current copy, not a pile of printouts
  • The house binder
  • A copy for the bug-out bag or truck
  • A copy for family
  • An offline PDF

Join for $49.95 per year

Food · CompoundSource: Prepper's Chemical Survival Guide, Chapter 28, p. 146 · Last reviewed 2026-09-18

Membership

Save to My Manual is a member tool

Members build their own manual from the pages that fit their household, then print it or keep it as a PDF.

Why it matters

When the grid goes down, this site goes with it. Paper does not. Membership is how you get the whole manual off the screen and onto the shelf: every page in full, every field guide, and a binder built for your own household.

The field guide library

All six field guides. 206 pages. Included.

The complete Buckhorn Cliffs PDF set, yours to download, print, and keep from the day you join.

$60if bought one at a time

  • Cover of Stockpile Essentials Field GuideStockpile Essentials39 pagesEverything to keep on hand, category by category, plus the 20 multi-use items.
  • Cover of Survival Foods Field GuideSurvival Foods35 pagesStoring, extending, and using the food supply. Real shelf life by the numbers.
  • Cover of Chemical Compounds Field GuideChemical Compounds29 pagesThe 33 compounds: storage, top uses, hazards, and the never-mix chart.
  • Cover of Spare Parts and Repair Stock Field GuideSpare Parts and Repair Stock40 pagesWhat to keep on hand to fix the home and land when the supply chain breaks.
  • Cover of Walk-Around Preparedness AuditWalk-Around Preparedness Audit33 pagesFifteen systems scored 1 to 5, with the printable scorecard.
  • Cover of The Preparedness LogbookPreparedness Logbook30 pagesThe household information that needs to be on paper.

My Manual · included

Build your own field manual

The most useful thing a membership gives you. No book fits your household exactly. My Manual does. Save any page on this site, recipes, charts, and whole field guides included, put them in your order, and print one manual with your name on the cover. It holds only what is relevant to you, and nothing you would skip.

Why it matters

  • It works when this site does notNo power and no signal means no website. A printed manual and an offline PDF still open, which is the whole point of writing any of this down.
  • Only your pagesThis site covers every household. Yours needs a fraction of it. Your manual holds the pages that match your water source, your climate, and your gear, so nobody digs through the rest under stress.
  • Anyone in the house can use itThe person who reads this site may not be the one home when it counts. A binder on the shelf, in your order, with a contents page, is something a spouse or a teenager can follow.
  • One current copy, not a pile of printoutsEvery page prints in the same field guide layout with a cover, a contents page, and the print date. Change a page, print again, and the old copy is easy to spot.

What to build with it

  • The house binderYour water source, your climate, your gear. Only the pages you would reach for.
  • A copy for the bug-out bag or truckA short version that travels: water, first aid, comms, and the recipes you rely on.
  • A copy for familyHand a parent or a grown kid a manual built for their house and their supplies.
  • The shop and the barnParts lists, repair skills, and the never-mix chart, kept where the work happens.
  • A recipe book of your ownThe cleaners, fuels, and remedies you make, with exact amounts, in one place.
  • An offline PDFSaved to a phone, a tablet, or a drive in the Faraday bag. It opens with no signal.

How it works

  1. 1Save what fitsPress "Save to My Manual" on any page: a recipe, a chart, a guide, a parts list, or a whole field guide.
  2. 2Put it in your orderOn My Account, drag the pages into the order you want. Name the manual and add your household name.
  3. 3Print it or save a PDFOpen the preview, then print it or save a PDF. It is sized for 8.5 x 11 inch paper, with a cover and a contents page. Field guides go in exactly as the PDFs are laid out. No ads, no photos.
  4. 4Keep it currentAdd a page, pull one out, print again. The cover carries the date, so you always know which copy is the latest.

Also included

  • The entire site, unlockedAll 158 member pages open in full: exact amounts, every step, every warning, every parts list. Nothing held back.
  • Every recipe and resource in the bookAll 138 recipes and 33 compounds from Prepper's Chemical Survival Guide, with exact amounts, every step, every warning, and the reference charts.
  • A clean PDF of any entryOne press turns any page into a field guide sheet for the binder, the truck, or the shop wall.
  • Checklists and audit scores that follow youSaved to the account, so the phone, the laptop, and the shop computer always match.
  • No adsMembers read the whole site without a single ad.
$49.95per year. About 14 cents a day. Cancel any time and keep the year you paid for.
Join now