Cooking with Cannabis

Cooking with cannabis has come a long way since the days of tossing some ground bud into a boxed brownie mix and hoping for the best. Without expensive kitchen tools or complicated math equations, you can heighten your culinary cannabis experience.

We talked to Kansas City-based chef, Carlos Mortera, for insights and ideas.

Chef Mortera has mastered the art of cooking with cannabis, hosting private, multi-course dinner parties around the Kansas City area. “I love creating cannabis-infused dishes because it’s another way to explore food and enhance the experience of flavors,” he says.

Choosing a Strain of Weed to Cook With

Think about how you want to feel. Do you want an edible to help enhance your creativity? Or is it more about reducing chronic pain or anxiety? Check out our strain guide or read our blog post about cannabis for pain management for some ideas.

In addition to the effects, consider the flavor profile that will work best in your recipe. If possible, smell your flower before buying. If you love the aroma, you’ll most likely love the taste.

If you’re new to cannabis recipes, Chef Mortera suggests starting with butter or oil, since those can be used in so many recipes ranging from sweet to savory. Because THC needs to bind to fat molecules, butter, coconut oil, olive oil and vegetable oil are ideal for cannabis infusion.

Making Your Own Cannabis-infused Butter and Oil

Cannabis must first be decarboxylated to properly infuse it with butter or oil. This process converts THCA in the plant into THC, activating the plant’s psychoactive properties. It sounds complicated, but it’s the same process that happens when you light (or heat) a joint. For edibles, decarboxylation happens when you heat cannabis at a low temperature in an oven.

Decarb Your Cannabis. Preheat your oven to 245ºF. Grab a baking sheet and cover it with parchment paper. Loosely break up the flower and place it on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, gently stirring the buds every 10-15 minutes.

Melt Butter. Take 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) and melt on low heat in a saucepan. Add 1 cup of water to keep the butter from burning.

Grind or Break Down Cannabis and Add to Butter. Keep in mind that you don’t want the bud to be ground up too fine, otherwise it will end up in your final product. After the butter is melted, add 1 cup of cannabis.

Simmer for 2-3 Hours on Low Heat. You don’t want the butter mixture to boil. Stir occasionally to help regulate the temperature.

Strain. Cover a glass jar or bowl with a mesh strainer or cheesecloth and pour the butter mixture through. Throw out anything that doesn’t get strained.

Refrigerate. Cool the sealed container of butter in the fridge until it solidifies (between 4 and 12 hours).

Calculating the Dosage

There are a few factors that help determine the dosage of your cannabutter, such as the amount of cannabis used, the THC and CBD percentages of the marijuana and the amount of butter or oil used.
“You have to make sure you do the math right,” says Mortera. “I try to make every dish 2 to 4 milligrams.”

If math isn’t your thing, there are several edible dosage calculator tools online, like this one from NuggMD or from the Bite Me podcast.

Cannabis Cooking Recipes

Once you’ve prepared your infused butter or oil, you can start to substitute all or part of what the recipe calls for. Things to consider:

THC will degrade at temperatures above 365°F, so don’t let your oven get too hot. To be safe, keep the oven at or below 340°F.
For best results, combine the rest of the ingredients before adding your butter or oil and be sure to mix it in well for consistency of flavor and accurate dosing.
Store your cannabis edibles in the same way you store other foods. Savory dishes go in the fridge, while baked goods usually go in the pantry. Do make sure that cannabis-infused foods are very clearly labeled and out of the reach of children.
Give yourself time between servings to understand the effects. As always, start low and go slow.

Buying Cannabis for Cooking and Baking

Look at your recipe and think about what scents and flavors will complement it, then talk to your friendly Budtender to help you find exactly what you need. Browse online and order ahead today. Bon Appetit!