Need a lesson: What exactly is bark?

[sailks]

 New question. I smoked a butt and was really happy, while my finished product (pictured) looks good, it doesn't look like what I envision smoked meat looking like. I see pictures on the net ,on cooking shows and the product is black when finished. I understand if it's good what it looks like means nothing, but, I read the forum's here and see other products much darker then mine some even black and people respond repeatedly nice bark.

Is bark the result of smoke type, heavy smoking or a heavy rub that's cooked on? I would appreciate any thoughts on this.

[mikecorn.1]

The dark bark comes from most likely a high sugar content in the rub used on the meat.
A nice crust that forms on the outside of the meat.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[classicrockgriller]

Some apply yellow mustard or molasses and then add the
seasoning to help in forming a bark.

Some mop with a sauce to help make a bark.

Just looks like you needed to add more seasoning.

[STLstyle]

Go heavier on your rub...