Ribeye Meat Bites - Help needed

[spangler2k3]

Good evening! ive been experimenting with jerky, venison, bacon, etc. but dont want to mess up my valuable venison on a recipe i didnt plan out correctly.

At the moment i have 3 pounds of fat removed ribeye in small chunks sitting in a brine solution of 1 cup mortons tender quick, and 4 cups of water (per mortens recommendation)

I intend on smoking these chunks, then finishing in my dehydrator.

Can anyone give me some tips or suggestions on changing my plan to what i should be looking at as far as times and temps?

150 degrees for 1 one hour without smoke
160 degrees for 1 hour with hickory
170 degrees for 1 hour with hickory

pull from smoker, and transfer  into dehydrator and pulled when completed

(note that all spices will be put onto the meat after rinsing from the brine)
Siracha Rub
Chili Lime
Teriyake (glaze, and will be reapplied before going into the dehydrator)

Sorry for all the mess but if you have a better suggestion for times and temps let me know!

Chris

[spangler2k3]

Well im glad i used a cheap cut of meat because it's ruined.. cooked perfectly at 150 for 3 hours with no water in the pan. then transferred to the dehydrator.. ran for 2 hours at 160.. a nice crisp on the outside and pulled pork consistency in the middle but not too soft.

but its saltier than heck. lesson learned, i didnt soak in fresh water to remove the brine enough.

thats why i tried a small batch without ruining my good cuts of meat..

i'll try again :)

suggestions still welcomed now for next run.. maybe use #1 cure instead of mortens TQ?

[Habanero Smoker]

Beef ribeye is not that cheap, unless you are talking about pork ribeye.

With MTQ you can't control the amount of salt, as you can by making your own cure brine (pickle) using cure #1. How long did you brine it for? Being that it was cut into small cubes, it would not take that long for it to cure. 

If you want to continue with a wet brine using cure #1, use about 3.2 ounces of cure #1, and 3/4 cup of pickling (or non-iodized table) salt - approximately 7.5 ounces; per gallon of liquid. That would workout to about .8 ounce of Cure #1, and 1/4 cup of pickling (or non-iodized table) salt approximately 2.6 ounces; per quart. It would be best to cure the meat whole then cube it. Trying to brine small cuts of meat, it would be difficult to determine how long to brine them.

[spangler2k3]

Thank you,

i ordered Cure #1 and it showed up today in the mail. It was some beef ribeye i had in the freezer from last year from part of a meat raffle i won.

I will use that formula for my next go around

[Habanero Smoker]

It would be best to cure first, then cut the meat into cubes. Depending on the size of the ribeye (bone it if it still has the bones attached); the whole roast may take 5 - 7 days. If you cut it into 1" - 1.5" steaks, the cure time will be much faster; I would say 8 - 12 hours.

That basic formula I posted, you can add sugar, to reduce the saltiness. For the amount of sugar I will add 1/2 cup per gallon of liquid.

I also spotted an  error I'm my instructions, that I have corrected. The sentence That would workout to about .8 ounce of Cure #1, and 1/4 cup of pickling (or non-iodized table) salt approximately 2.6 ounces.""

Should read. That would workout to about .8 ounce of Cure #1, and 1/4 cup of pickling (or non-iodized table) salt approximately 2.6 ounces; per quart.