Medical Marijuana Thanksgiving Recipes

Since ancient times the healing properties of THC, the primary psychoactive cannabinoid developed in cannabis plants, have been sought and steeped out using milk to create drinks such as bhang. So to help everyone get into the holiday spirits, today’s special-edition savory blog topic is all about how to incorporate medical marijuana into some good old-fashioned Thanksgiving recipes—Danks-giving!

Note, either a lipid or an alcohol can be the solvent for integrating THC into edible substances.

THC is a hydrophobic molecule that is insoluble in water and soluble only in oils, fats and alcohol, which is why you’ll want to steep in fats and not use water when extracting. Hence milk (fats), ghee (fats) and spices are ingredients used in India to extract cannabinoids for bhang. Because we will be extracting THC and cooking with it lets explore extracting it using olive/coconut oil and butter.

In order for any medicated edible to be effective for a patient the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in most abundance (THCA, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) must be converted into a psychoactive one (THC), a process achieved using heat.

THCA loses its carboxyl group – (COOH), termed decarboxylation, at around 106° C (220° F).

THCA →106° C—decarboxylation →THC

Past research indicates that optimum parameters for heating cannabis are 122°C (251° F) for 27 minutes.

Medical Marijuana Infused Coconut or Olive Oil

The process of converting THCA→THC is also known as “activating” and it can be done before or during the extraction of THC into any cooking oil that you can use for countless cooking applications.

Past research illustrates the highest yield of THC is achieved after 110minutes at 110°C (230° F), think crockpot!

Note, do not get greedy and try rushing the most out of this chemical conversion. Temperatures above 140° C (284° F) may vaporize compounds and temperatures below 90° C (194° F) may not significantly convert in under a 24hrs.

So remember that 110 seems to be the sweet number, for both minutes and degrees C.

Click the photo above for a great simple video on how to make cannabis infused cooking oil.

Medical Marijuana Infused Butter

Essentially the same concept as using oil as a solvent, but in this case you’ll be grabbing the butter and melting it in! Parameters are between 93-100° C (200-212° F) and between 15-25min for every .8g of cannabis material.

Click the photo above for another super simple way to make medical marijuana butter.

When you ingest marijuana infused edibles, your liver processes the THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, into a by-product called 11-hydroxy-THC, which has been reported to be 3-5 times more potent than THC that has been inhaled.

I feel it’s hard to measure “potency” since everyone’s metabolic rates are different, but a good rule of thumb is: NEVER eat the whole thing. Also remember it takes 40-90mins for medicated foods to take effect so be patient!

As a medical marijuana patient you can enjoy the holidays using these infused olive/coconut oil & cannabutter in some classic recipes. Remember, the instructional videos below may say butter, just imagine the prefix “canna” is there.

Medicated Squash Soup

Serves 6-8, pairs well with Chardonnay

Prep—10min

Cook—40min

Total time—50min

Ingredients:

Melted MEDICATED BUTTER
3-3.5lbs of butternut squash
2 tablespoon salt
5 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
3 cups veggie/chicken broth
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon minced ginger
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Turn on the oven to a toasty 400° F. Full directions and video here.

Medicated Cornbread, cast iron skillet style

Serves 8-12

Prep time—5min

Cook time—35min

Total time—40min

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons melted MEDICATED COCONUT OIL
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup almond/regular milk, at room temp
¼ cup applesauce, at room temp
¼ cup sorghum
1 egg, at room temp

Directions:

Get your oven to 375° F and follow these super easy instructions.

Medicated Turkey Breast with Stuffing

serves 4-6, pairs well with Pinot Noir

Prep—45min

Cook—2.5hrs

Total time—3hrs 15mins

Ingredients:

MEDICATED OLIVE OIL
1 x 10-12lbs turkey
1 quart chicken broth
2oz mushrooms
1 cup diced veggies (onions/celery/green pepper)
1 cup dried cherries
½ cup chopped pecans
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons dried sage and parsley
Black pepper
Salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400° F and grab that bird! Video and further directions here.

Medicated Mashed Potatoes

Serves 6-8

Prep time—15min

Cook time—25min

Total time—40min

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons MEDICATED BUTTER and/or ¼ cup MEDICATED OLIVE OIL
1 cup heavy cream
3 Yukon potatoes, peeled
Black pepper
Salt
2 tablespoons chopped chives, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

This has a pretty traditional cooking method, but it’s definitely not your Grandma’s recipe. Bring some cold water to a boil and get mashing with these easy instructions.

Medicated Green Bean Casserole

Serves 6-8

Prep time—30min

Cook time—55min

Total time—1hr 25 mins

Ingredients:

3 tabelspoons MEDICATED BUTTER and/or 5 tablespoons MEDICATED OLIVE OIL
3lbs green beans
Black pepper
Salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 loaf crusty bread
3 tablespoons diced chives and thyme leaves
1 tablespoon diced rosemary leaves
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2lbs mixed mushrooms
2 shallots, sliced

Directions:

375°F of fun!

Medicated Pumpkin Pie

Prep time—15min

Inactive—2.5hrs

Cook time—1hr 05min

Total time—3hrs 50min

Ingredients:

Crust:

1oz melted MEDICATED BUTTER
6oz gingersnap cookies
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Filling:

16oz pumpkin puree
1 cup half-and-half
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
Salt
¾ brown sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Pumpkin Puree:

1 x 4-6 lbs baking pumpkin
Salt

Directions:

Get your oven to 400°F once more and follow these instructions.

Got lots of cannabutter to store? Want a cool little tip on making and storing all that cannabutter? Most recipes call for 1/4lb or a stick of butter, and this video shows you how to individually store perfect portions of cannabutter.

There is no set shelf life really, but using tricks like separating unwanted solids first or properly storing (refrigerating or freezing) your canna butter/ canna oils can elongate shelf life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and happy eating!