Salt alone won't actually cure the meat, but it's the addition of other curing ingredients that enhance the texture and cause the meat to retain its reddish-pink color. If the meat were brined with Kosher salt alone, it wouldn't have the bold pink color like hams and bacon.
Kosher salt is great for brining meats, and is especially good when used to dry-brine or dry-cure meats. The open texture of the grains of Kosher salt allow liquid that is pulled from the meat during brining to drain away easily. If finer grained table salt or canning salt were used, it would form a less porous layer of salt around the meat, and would tend to hold the liquid in.
