Leather Storrs: Cooking With Pot

Leather Storrs: Cooking With Pot

The overlap of politics and food is about to get skunky. As states, notably mine, move towards the legalization of marijuana, cooks are perfecting their brownie recipes. Weed isn’t just for smoking anymore. Lots of people are betting loads of money that you’ll prefer drinking and eating your pot. And why not? Consuming THC is healthier than smoking and fun- cookies, candies, chocolates and soda pop are some of the many delivery methods available. But the danger of ingesting grass is analogous to my relationship with hard liquor: By the time I realized I had had too much, it was too late. And being too high (I’m told) is no fun at all.

For example, this guy I know took some dopey chocolate to his Uncle over Christmas. Several weeks later the uncle saw it in a drawer, forgot what it was and ate it. Then he went golfing where he was convinced he was having a stroke, repeatedly. A couple hours in to his paranoia and palpitations, he finally remembered the content of his snack and relaxed… a little. Six hours later he could almost laugh about it.

The other major concern about edible cannabis is the nature of the offerings. Candy, cookies and pop don’t just appeal to the kid in me, they appeal to kids. And it is a given that there will be accidents. On top of that, the long term negative effects of ganja on a fresh pink brain are insidious and well documented. Laws and regulations do not stop kids from getting alcohol and cigarettes, why would hemp be any different? 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

But don’t freak out just yet. Acapulco Gold is no Black Tar heroin and cases of violent crime attributed to MJ are almost non-existent. You’re likely going to the mini mart for chips and a slushy rather than armed robbery.  And here’s the kicker: people say that cooking with Cheeba is fun. It’s a challenge in terms of both taste and technology. In fact, I might be very good at it.

Maryjane is soluble in oil and alcohol, not water. The intoxicant goes to solution with the application of heat. That means that you can’t get high just eating Sour Diesel- you’ve got to burn it or heat it. Alcohol extraction is efficient, but sketchy. Leave it to the pros and stick to oil. Are you with me? OK, here’s a hypothetical method featuring my favorite new word: Decarboxylation.

The easiest way to disperse THC into oil is to put some in a crockpot with butter and cook the slurry for 6 hours. By that point, the solid matter can be discarded. Refrigerate the liquid and when it’s firm, pour off the water. Your green butter will be weak, weedy and a little bitter owing to the chlorophyll. That’s ok, it’s your first time. Now to decarboxylate!

Decarboxylation in reefer involves the heating of THCA (the precursor to the psychoactive THC) in order to remove a carbon atom. The process yields water and carbon dioxide and breaks the carboxylic acid chain so that THCA becomes THC. This occurs at around 240 degrees Fahrenheit meaning that your crockpot won’t do it: water in butter is the rate limiting factor that prohibits your solution from exceeding 212. Luckily, the method is much easier than the explanation.   

Set your oven to 250, put your green in a dish and roast it gently for 20-30 minutes. It will be brown, toasty and dry. Now go to the crockpot or, if you’re fancy, do what I’m going to do when this is legal: vacuum seal butter and buds and cook in a water bath (oooh- Sous Vide!). I’m told that 3, 3 hour plunges in boiling water,  interrupted with a chill down in an ice bath extracts the highest percentage of THC. In July, the Chronic goes mainstream in Oregon. I think I’ll try my hand at caramel. But no matter when or where you do your experiments, remember the single most important part of the recipe- KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN.

Leather Storrs is an Oregon native who has served 20 years in professional kitchens. He owns a piece of two area restaurants: Noble Rot and Nobleoni at Oregon College of Art and Craft, where he yells and waves arms. He quietly admits to having been a newspaper critic in Austin, Texas and Portland.