Few things pair as well as weed and food. But instead of reaching for a snack after the high hits, why not get your THC and your meal in at the same time?
When Lexie McKinney, a Spokane local, dog lover, recreational cook and cannabis enthusiast, started experimenting with weed in the kitchen, she realized the possibilities extended far beyond desserts. She started creating snacks, drinks and whole meals that paired weed with other ingredients, like a chef experimenting with rosemary or oregano. Her laid-back, try-anything attitude has helped produce some pretty delicious results.
A few years, a few duds, but plenty of successful recipes later, McKinney opened her kitchen and shared some of her most potent advice with us.
INLANDER: Why did you first want to cook something with weed?
MCKINNEY: Because it was fun. I really like cooking, so to be able to take something like smoking weed, which I also like, and combine it with another hobby — it just seemed natural.
What was the first thing you made?
Oh, it had to be brownies. We did something very basic, and they tasted horrible. We made them so wrong. I'm pretty sure we chucked a bunch of dry herbs into some dough. I know now that's not how you do it, but back then it seemed totally logical.
Now that you've learned, what are the ways that you include cannabis in your food?
There's two different things you can infuse THC into. It's gonna be fat — so typically in oil or butter. I use coconut oil. Or, you can infuse it into a tincture, which is alcohol over a certain proof. I can use a coconut oil for anything — savory, sweet, throw it into a recipe in place of butter, throw it into a pan to saute things in. It just depends. Alcohol tinctures can go into drinks and stuff.
How do you infuse coconut oil with THC?
There's a couple of different ways to do it. I have a little magic butter thing now, but I used to double boil it. The first step that everyone forgets is decarb your weed — stick it into the oven, bring it up to a certain temperature, which will turn some of the molecules that aren't active THC into THC. You're raising the potency and solubility of your weed. Then, you'll put that into your oil, and you will bring it to a certain temperature without boiling it. The easiest way to do that for anyone at home is to double boil it — throw down a pot of water, put a bowl on top, put your oil and weed in the bowl, and as things boil up, it'll infuse it for you for a few hours. Or in a crock pot, throw everything in and leave it in for a few hours on low, and you're all set.
Is there a way to control the potency of the weed in the food that you're making?
Yes, you can. There are ways you can figure out how to dose it. I think the basic formula is you take the solubility of the base you're making it — so with coconut oil, I think it's like 80%. Multiply the potency of your weed by the amount of weed you have, so you get how much will be able to go into the oil itself. Then you multiply that by the solubility of your base. All this to say, it's way easier to look online and use a calculator.
And are you able to control the effect it has on flavor?
Not as much, but I think everyone assumes it's gonna be really gross and skunky. To some extent it will, depending on what parts of the plant you use. But I think the flavor of the weed itself is something that you kinda have to work with. I feel like you can make things where it is a complement to the other flavors you're trying to develop.
What are your favorite things to make?
If I have a simple syrup with it, I'll throw it in my coffee, and I think that actually really complements it. My wife makes some really good pumpkin spice muffins that I really think are complemented by that flavor as well. A lot of rich flavors — and chocolate flavors, too, since everyone loves to do dessert — really mask that, and the earthiness of the weed itself works with it.
Is it a different high than from smoking weed?
Yeah. So when you infuse things because you're throwing the whole product in, you're gonna get some more cannabinoids that you wouldn't get while you're smoking it. So you get the full body effect. Your liver is also breaking things down into a more processable chemical in your system. So you're able to feel more of it, and it lasts longer.
How long does it usually last?
I think that really depends on your edible. There's some that I've eaten in my life that were like, five minutes maybe. And there's some where I'm like, I should have eaten this two days ago. It just all depends.
Do you have any advice to someone who's just starting to cook with THC?
My big one is, don't throw the weed straight in! Infuse it into a base. But other than that, get creative. I think people should feel empowered to explore it and throw it in stuff — if it goes wrong, it goes wrong. But if it goes right, it goes so right. I've made a lot of savory things that I think are outside of the wheelhouse of things people would think to cook with weed, and I think there's so much to explore out there. There's no real way to go wrong because you'll probably get high at the end.
When you say savory dishes, do you mean, like, pastas?
I have absolutely made pastas before with it. I did Nashville Hot Chicken sliders one time. I've done seafood boils with it. There's just so much you could do that people don't think about. ♦
