I smoked my first pork butt and overall it turned out pretty well. See my cooking log I have attached to get some information. I only have two complaints or concerns. The first is that the bark on the outside never hardened. It would slightly harden in spots but was more flakey than anything. When I rubbed it I didn't use any oil, I just applied the rub directly on the meat and it was not heavily covered (see photo below) Could this be why? How much rub should be applied? Also I didn't seem to have as much taste in the middle of the meat as I did around the outside. How can I get more flavor in the middle without injecting? I applied the rub just before putting it on the smoker. Should I let the rub sit on the meat for a period of time? The meat pulled very easy and tasted pretty good I thought. Critique please!