Bark on my last two cooks "mushy"

[Smoking77]

Not quite sure why this is happening, but with my last cook of pork ribs and today's cook of short ribs, there have been a bunch of spots where the bark is mushy. Been using my WSM for 10 years with basically the same technique. I do fill a water pan with water, but I don't think that's it, because the mushy bark didn't happen for the first 10 years. Any thoughts?

[Redwng]

I had something similar happen when I tried a dry brine with kosher salt. They were "mushy" on the grill, I don't do that any more. Did you dry brine or season them and let it set up?

[Smoking77]

Yes, I always dry brine with a little kosher salt and whatever commercial rub I'm using (which also has salt). The past few times I've hit it with more rub before putting it on the smoker. Some of the bark gets set in a few hours, some gets mushy. Maybe too much rub in places?

[bbqLuv]

Very interesting question,
Waiting for replies from the pros.

[smokin fool]

I had the same problem on a couple of cooks where I piled on the dry rub.
It was usually with pork ribs or butts/shoulders. I don't dry brine pork when I smoke it.
Eased up on the rub problem solved.
Beef I do dry brine but have always done rub lightly on beef anyway so never been a problem.
I've cooked with and without a water pan with no noticeable difference.

[DavidNorcross]

Are you sure nothing there is nothing different with these cooks?

[Smoking77]

For the most part, I don't think so? I mean, sometimes I cook at different temps (225-285), or I might use more or less salt/rub depending on how methodical I want to be. Other than that, nothing drastically changes. I don't take many notes during my cook, but it's possible the only big thing that changed was adding more rub before the cook.

[rickgregory]

Something has to be different for different results. I'd look at these things:

1) Back off the rub. It's a flavoring not a coating.
2) are you using a new rub? If not, is it a commercial rub and could they have altered how it's made?
3) Check the temps. I know, same WSM etc but... check the temps. Are they what they've always been?
4) Do you wrap? Any change there (foil vs paper etc)?
5) Are you doing anything different post cook, during the rest\?

[Smoking77]

Something has to be different for different results. I'd look at these things:

1) Back off the rub. It's a flavoring not a coating.
2) are you using a new rub? If not, is it a commercial rub and could they have altered how it's made?
3) Check the temps. I know, same WSM etc but... check the temps. Are they what they've always been?
4) Do you wrap? Any change there (foil vs paper etc)?
5) Are you doing anything different post cook, during the rest\?

1. I will back off next time. I definitely hit the rub heavy the past couple times. I'm hoping that's the reason, because it's easy to remedy for the next cook.
2. For this cook, it's a new rub. But for the pork ribs two weeks ago, it was something I had used a few times before, from the same container. Old rub is Killer Hogs Hot BBQ Rub. The new rub is Harry Soo's beef rub.
3. Temps are the same, for the most part. I have a Fireboard, which I made sure to check after the last cook, and everything is calibrated. I cooked the pork ribs at 250 and the short ribs at 275. I have a fan controller, so the temps stay pretty stable.
4. I didn't wrap the pork ribs; I'm holding the short ribs in butcher paper now for a few hours before dinner. But this is something I've noticed before I wrap. A couple hours into the cook.
5. Same answer as number 4

Thanks for the help!

[STEbbq]

Have you noticed any liquid pooling on the meat during the cook? Might just be a flip or two during the cook could solve it,

[Smoking77]

I’ll try that next time, thanks. There was some pooling, but a lot of the spots looked just like regular bark. When I scratched at it though… mush.