Nov 14th 2024

Infusing your Thanksgiving Dinner with Cannabis

When it comes to a holiday like Thanksgiving, there is no better time to make this a special holiday meal than infusing Cannabis. Traditionally, a thanksgiving meal includes roasted turkey with stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and we can’t forget the Pumpkin pie.  In my house, we also add candied sweet potatoes and a green bean casserole.

With cannabis legalization sweeping the US, the interest in cannabis-infused dishes will make the upcoming holiday extraordinary.  Holidays can be stressful, and it may just be the perfect time to make it a high holiday!

Pre Meal Preparation

Before you begin to prepare your high holiday meal, please take note of a few essential things to keep in mind.

• Ensure your guests are informed and consent to a cannabis-infused thanksgiving dinner.
• Make sure to avoid eating cannabis on an empty stomach or mixing with alcohol, doing so can intensify the effects.
• Make sure to microdose all dishes individually to avoid taking to much and will allow your guests to pace themselves.  A microdose can be anywhere from one to five mg of THC or CBD. 
• Decarboxylating the Cannabis flower before adding them to the dishes is another important step. Raw Cannabis would not have any desired psychedelic effects.

To Decarb the Cannabis, place the Cannabis buds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper into a preheated oven (to 245℉). Keep the buds in the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes. Gently remove and shake the tray every 10 minutes to mix the Cannabis and ensure even exposure to heat. After the stipulated time, take out the Cannabis and allow them to cool.

As we are familiar with the steps to follow, and before delving into the Cannabis-infused Thanksgiving meals, let us take a look at how to make the Canna-butter and Cannabis Oil.

Cannabutter and Cannabis Oil Recipe

 Olive oil, butter, and mashed potatoes are staples in preparing a Thanksgiving dinner meal.  If you are inclined this year, try infusing the butter or oil with a little concentration of Cannabis.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter or any oil of your choice
• 7-10 grams of coarsely ground Decarboxylated Cannabis (see above)
• 1 Cup Water

Process

• Add the butter/oil and water together in a saucepan and cook on low heat until the butter melts.
• Add the ground Cannabis to the mixture and stir. Cook it for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Once done, let the mixture cool and ensure it doesn’t solidify.
• Strain the mixture in a bowl and allow it to settle to room temperature. The Canna-butter is ready for your dishes.

Thanksgiving Meal Recipes

The Canna-butter or the Cannabis oil can be used in almost any Thanksgiving recipe. Try the recipes mentioned below to give it a perfect Cannabis touch!

Cannabis-infused Gravy

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup skimmed fat
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups juices from a roasted turkey along with broth and water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp Cannabis butter

Process

• Place the skimmed fat in a huge pot over medium heat.
• Allow the fat to melt gradually, and then sprinkle on the all-purpose flour.
• Stir both regularly with a wooden spoon until the fat and flour mix well. Stir for another 2-3 minutes.
• Pour in the drippings leisurely into the roux until the liquids get fully integrated into the mix.
• Simmer until it reaches the desired consistency-season with salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp of Cannabis butter.

Cannabis-Infused Turkey

The turkey is the most important dish for the day. If you make a Cannabis topped turkey, you can adjust the usual recipe by adding butter or oil in the basting process. Make sure to use olive oil with around 3 tsp of Cannabis-infused when you baste the turkey.

Cannabis-Infused Mashed Potatoes

Can you imagine Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes?  Try using your homemade Cannabis-infused butter to give your mashed potatoes a little zing.

Ingredients

• six medium boiled potatoes, peeled and cubed
• cup warm milk
• 1 to 3 tsp Cannabutter
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• cup regular butter
• Salt (as per taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)

Process

• Add milk, Cannabis butter, regular butter, and salt to the boiled potatoes.
• Mash until they turn light and fluffy.
• Add the crushed garlic.
• Mix well and season it with black pepper.

Cannabis-Infused Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 12 ounces of fresh cranberries
• cup golden brown sugar
• teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1-2 teaspoons of Cannabis-infused coconut oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 stick cinnamon

Process

• Rinse cranberries in cool water and add them along with sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon stick in a bowl and stir.
• Heat the pan at medium temperature and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, frequently stir to ensure the sauce doesn’t burn.
• Remove the cinnamon stick, turn off the heat, add in cannabutter and stir until fully combined.
• Let the cranberry sauce come down to room temperature and serve.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Punch

This Thanksgiving, serve up a delicious cannabis cranberry cocktail. If you’re celebrating with friends, or your family is Cannabis friendly, this cannabis punch is sure to be a hit!. Be sure to tell your guests that your punch is potent in THC!

Ingredients

• 2 quarts cranberry juice cocktail
• 1 quart sparkling water
• 1 6-oz can frozen pink lemonade, (thawed)
• 1/4 cup Cannabis Sugar
• 4 – 6 orange slices

Instructions

• In a small saucepan, combine cannabis sugar and 1 cup water. 
• Bring to a boil and take of the hear once sugar is dissolved.
• In a large container, combine the cranberry juice cocktail, the sparkling water and the thawed pink lemonade concentrated. Stir and serve.

CannaSugar

Ingredients

• 4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup Cannabis tincture

Instructions

• Add 4 cups of sugar into a glass bowl.
• Add ½ cup of cannabis tincture and mix well with the sugar.
• Line a tray with parchment paper, and even spread the sugar over the parchment paper in a thin layer.
• Let stand overnight.
• Using a solid object, like a bottle, can or the bottom of a glass, crush up the cannabis sugar to remove the lumps. You can also do this step in a food processor, or blender.
• You can also do this step in a food processor, or blender. Store the weed infused sugar in a cool dry place.

Cannabis Tincture

Ingredients

• 1 Ounce Cannabis decarbed
• 2 Cups Everclear (or other high proof alcohol)

Instructions

• Place the decarbed cannabis in a plastic bucket
• Crush the plant material using a stick of clean, untreated wood or any other similar device.
• Continue to crush the cannabis, while adding 1 cup everclear until the plant material is completely covered and soaked. Stir the mixture for about three minutes. As you stir the mixture, the cannabinoids will begin dissolving off the plant into the solvent.
• Strain the solvent mixture into another bucket. At this point, you have stripped the material of about 80% of its THC.
• Repeat this process for the second wash. Again add 1 cup everclear to the plant material and work for another three minutes to extract the remaining THC.
• Strain this new solvent mix into the bucket containing the first mix that was previously separated.
• Discard the twice washed plant material.
• Pour the solvent mixture through a coffee filter into a clean container.
• Boil the solvent off in a safe environment. A rice cooker will boil the solvent off nicely. CAUTION: the solvent is flammable and the vapors toxic. Avoid stove-tops, red-hot elements, sparks, cigarettes, and open flames as the fumes can be extremely dangerous.
• Add solvent to rice cooker and turn on heat. Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area and set up a fan to carry the solvent fumes away. If you can complete this step outside.
• Continue to add mixture to cooker as the solvent evaporates until you have added it all to the cooker.
• Continue to reduce the liquid until you have roughly 1 cup liquid left.
• Place in a container or jar and let stand for at least 24 hours.