If you want to break into curing meat you really should have at least one book on the shelf for reference. I hate relying on an electric gizmo to hold information in another part of the house when I need it in the kitchen or somewhere else. The books mentioned previously are good books to have but have drawbacks. The Chacutchrie book is a bit advanced and dont cover the hows & whys pertaining to cures and in my opinion is a recipe book. Ryteks book covers the hows & whys thoroughly but all the recipes are oriented toward the production sausage maker and all the recipes call for ingredients that you dont really need to make truly great sausages at home. Im not bagging on the books just pointing out some things that the beginner might not be aware of.
My suggestion for a well rounded book that covers everything you need to know about meat curing & sausage making and includes information about meat smoking, smokehouse design, microbiology, fermented sausages, meat science and a bunch of other stuff is Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages, written by Stanley Marianske and his sons. They also have a website that nicely complements their books.
http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/
