smoking a raw pork shoulder picnic ham help.

I just got my Treager about a month ago, so I am new to this. It's the entry level model so it only has three settings. Smoke, Med, High. I bought a 9LB raw pork shoulder picnic ham that I want to smoke this weekend. I am looking for suggestions for pellet selection, and a guess as to how long it will take to cook. I have a probe thermometer so I know I have to hit 140. If I have to baste it I need to do so with a liquid that has no sugar in it. I am on a restricted sugar diet right now. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Larry

Those three speeds are topught for low and slow you may want to get a thermometer for the pit temp and alternate between smoke and mediun

Traeger has an actual temp dial that I can buy for $100.00. I think that might be a good investment.

Hey Larry, I highly recommend the controller upgrade! You will not regret it!

OK, bought the temp controller. Any recommendation on what temp I want to try and keep it at?

Depends on what you're cooking and what works for you. Browse the gallery, most cooks will say what temps their grill is set at. There are also cooks in the gallery at BigPoppaSmokers.com.

For pulled pork I cook both Picnics & Butts the same way and have never been disappointed. Search the forum and you'll find lots of methods of cooking shoulders posted by by different folks.

Here's a recent cook I did where I smoked a total of 3 Picnics & 2 Butts (one picnic was on a separate grill).



I like to apply some rub and put them on the smoker while they're still cold. Smoke them at 225° - 250° for 2 - 3 hours until they develop a nice color. Then I foil them with a little braising liquid (or use a foil pan). Put them back on with the pit temp raised to about 275° - 300° and braise them until the I.T. is in a range of 190° - 200°. You'll know its done because when you stick the probe in it will slide in easily with little resistance.

Those look great! Thanks for the info. Going to give it a shot this weekend.

Installed my temp controller today. Cooked an awesome Rib eye for dinner.
Put a Rub that I found online on the ham about 8 hours before cook time.
8 tbs lemon pepper
8 tbs mrs dash
4 tbs kosher salt
4 tsp onion powder
4 tsp granulated garlic
I mixed it up in some olive oil and applied it as a paste.
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