I am just about to smoke some "pork short ribs" on which I have had salt and a BBQ rub for the minimum (in the recipe) four hours. Assuming a 4-6 hour smoke, dinner will be late!
I might just wait until tommorow, and wondered in the science of rubs, particularly when smoking, when does a salted rub ( or dry-brine? 
) start to make a difference, and when is too long?
I didn’t find anything yet using Google, but I am just getting started.
Napoleon says this about “adding seasonings/rubs at the same time or after you dry brine”.
“You can add seasonings/rubs at the same time or after you dry brine. Keep in mind that other seasonings will not penetrate into the meat like salt but will stay on the surface.”
Bradly Smoker seems to be saying a rub is at least partly for texture.
Serious Eats on pre-salting smaller cuts, like a steak
I’ve read smoke stops getting absorbed (or smoke ring doesn’t get bigger?) after a certain amount of time or temp. Is that right?
And from reddit, if you dare…
