Cooking With Cannabis: 3 recipes that will be the HIGH-light of your Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is many people’s favorite holiday. After all, what could be better than a table completely covered with food, as well as a football game and parade? The holiday of thanks is already fantastic, sure… but what if we add one more element: marijuana. 

The following recipes will check all the boxes for your Thanksgiving meal. They are delicious, warming, holiday staples, chocked full of THC. 

Please note, that The Greener Institute does not endorse or recommend feeding cannabis-infused food to unknowing family members or friends. What’s more, recreational marijuana is not legal in PA or many other states. Please do not give medical cannabis to those who are not cardholders. This holiday, many individuals are holding Thanksgiving celebrations in their own home. 

If you’re a cardholder in PA, these recipes can help you enjoy your holiday meal and alleviate any holiday or pandemic-related anxiety. 

Getting Started

As with any cannabis-infused food item, you’re going to need to start by decarbing your flower, otherwise known as decarboxylation, which helps to activate the chemical compounds in cannabis. Without decarbing cannabis, your infused food will not have any effect. You can read more about this process and how to accurately decarb here. 

Make Your Cannabis-Infused Base

Most of the recipes below rely on cannabutter. Luckily, this is relatively simple (though admittedly time-consuming) to make. If your state allows, you can also buy pre-made infusions. However, we believe the best Thanksgiving meals are always made from scratch and with love, so why not try your hand at making your own cannabutter anyways?

To make cannabutter, you’re going to need to start with a butter base that has medium-length fat molecule chains. Cannabinoids bind to fat, so something like ghee (clarified butter), which contains 100% fat, will result in a stronger infusion than conventional bars of butter since they are typically 80% milk fat.

When making the cannabutter, we recommend using the conventional stovetop or, preferably, a slow cooker. Do not try to rush the process by turning up the heat. If the temperature gets too high, you’ll risk burning off the cannabinoids. Here’s how to make cannabutter in your slow cooker:

1. Place your decarbed flower into a strainer bag or create a sachet using cheesecloth. Drop the bag or sachet into the slow cooker.
2. Pour your butter of choice into the slow cooker, making sure that it covers the flower completely. 
3. Turn on the slow cooker and set on Medium. Cook for 4 hours, stirring occasionally and monitoring the temperature, which should sit at a consistent 150℉.
4. At the end of 4 hours, turn off the slow cooker and let the butter cool slightly, but do not let it cool long enough to solidify. 
5. After cooling, discard the bag or sachet of flower. Optionally, you can also strain the mixture further to make it even smoother. Transfer the cannabutter to a sealable container and set aside for further cooking. 

The Recipes

Cannabis-Basted Turkey

Turkey is THE Thanksgiving dish. This year, boost the calming-effects of turkey by basting your bird with cannabutter! 

You can use any turkey recipe you like as long as it includes basting with butter. To not go overboard, we recommend adding only 2-3 teaspoons of cannabutter to whatever recipe you’re using, opting for regular butter or oil to make up the difference. To help you get started, we’ve linked to a few of our favorite turkey recipes below!

• Bon Appetit’s “A Simple Roast Turkey”
• Cafe Delites’ “Garlic Herb Butter Roast Turkey”
• Tastes Better From Scratch’s “Easy, No-Fuss Thanksgiving Turkey”

Infused Mashed Potatoes

Next to turkey, mashed potatoes are the most coveted dish in your holiday feast. Now you can place them on even a higher pedestal with cannabutter. Here’s what you’ll need:

Russet potatoes, approximately 6, peeled and cubed

¼ c regular butter

2-3 tsp cannabutter

½ c warmed milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place peeled potatoes and saucepan and fill with water until potatoes are just covered. Add lid and bring to a boil.
2. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until fork-tender.
3. Drain potatoes and add in remaining ingredients.
4. Mash with your tool of choice until they reach your desired consistency (use a ricer for impossibly smooth potatoes, a potato masher for a deliciously chunky result, or a hand-mixer for a great mix of smooth and textured). 

Pumpkin Pie High 

Last, but not least on our list, is the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert: pumpkin pie. If you make any of these dishes, let this be the one. Trust us. Here’s your shopping list:

For the pie:

1 premade pie crust, uncooked

2 tbsp cannabutter, melted

½ c sugar

2 large eggs

1 can pumpkin pie puree (15 oz)

1 can evaporated milk (15 oz)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

⅛ ground clove

½ salt

For whipped cream:

2 tbsp sugar

¾ c heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cannabutter, melted

Making the pie:

1. Preheat oven to 340℉.
2. Combine all pie ingredients in a bowl.
3. Transfer to premade pie crust and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is completely set. 
4. Let cool before cutting or topping with whipped cream (recipe to follow).

Making the whipped cream:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Whip with a beater or hand mixer until soft peaks form. 
2. Fold in cannabutter until well combined.
3. Set aside until pie is ready to be served. 

This year’s Thanksgiving is sure to be different. Why not make it more enjoyable with the addition of cannabis? We hope you enjoy these recipes if you try your hand at them. Let us know what you made for your feast in the comments below!

If you want to learn more about cooking with cannabis, check out our previous blog on infused hot drinks: https://thegreenerinstitute.com/3-cannabis-infused-drinks/, and stay tuned for info regarding our upcoming cooking with cannabis classes!