Your Guide to Weed Edibles Plus 3 Easy Recipes to Try

Here is a guide to weed edibles and a bonus 3 easy recipes that you can try out at home. Edibles have come a long way from the days of the basic hash brownies to the current dynamic market with an eclectic mix of canna-edibles.

Data from Arcview suggests that the value of the weed edibles market will hit $4.1 billion by 2022. This just goes to show that increasingly more people are choosing to eat their weed and not smoke it.

Weed edibles have been showing up in family dinners, weddings, yoga classes, and class reunions among others. What is making this weed category popular across different age groups?

Benefits of Weed Edibles

Here are some of the top reasons why weed edibles are all the rage:

1. Versatile: you can infuse so many different foods and beverages in order to get the one that works best for you
2. Easy to consume
3. Effects last for a longer time
4. Great taste

What are Weed Edibles?

Weed edibles are foods and beverages that have been infused with cannabis. The cannabis is not added directly into the foods; it first has to undergo a process of decarboxylation where the active compounds in the weed are released from their acidic forms through heating.

For example, THCA is converted into THC while CBDA is converted into CBD. The decarboxylated weed is then used to make cannabutter or cannabis cooking oil which is then used in recipes. However, some weed recipes will allow you to use the decarboxylated weed directly.

Will Weed Edibles Get You High?

The answer is both a yes and no as it all depends on the type of weed that you will use in the recipe. For example, an ACDC strain with zero amount of THC will not get you high while a bite of chicken nuggets infused with the Bruce Banner strain may knock you off completely.

If you can recall, some time back there was an infamous story of Maureen Dowd who got overwhelmed by the effects of consuming weed edibles. For eight hours she was lying on the floor of her hotel room convinced that she was dead. She eventually got out of it, like everyone else does, and lived to tell the story.

How Do Weed Edibles Work In The Body?

Cannabis works in the same way once it is in the bloodstream. However, how you consume it will affect how long it is going to take before the weed hits your bloodstream. By this, we are referring to the bioactive compounds such as THC and CBD.

When you ingest weed edibles the active compounds do not hit the bloodstream directly. They have to go through the process of digestion in the gastrointestinal tract and pass liver metabolism before hitting the bloodstream and brain. This also means that the effects will take a longer time before they eventually kick in.

Some other factors will also influence how the body interacts with cannabis. This includes the person’s age, metabolism, and activity levels among others.

How Long Do Weed Edibles Last?

Most users will start feeling the effects of weed edibles after about 3 hours. The edibles bind to fat molecules which are lipophilic and may not wear off until 8- 10 hours later. This makes edibles appealing to people seeking prolonged effects.

As you may have heard it before, start slow and go slow on weed edibles. Since the effects are delayed it is easy to “overdose.” Give your body time to break down the weed and release the active compounds into the bloodstream. The recommended dosage is about 10mg of THC and add 2.5mg until an appropriate dosage is achieved.

Choose Your Strain Wisely

Cannabis strains are not created equal, hence they produce different effects in the body. If you are looking for a strong cerebral buzz you are better off with a sativa strain. On the other hand if you are looking for a body stone you are better off with an indica. Also consider the mix of cannabinoids and terpenes that are present in the strain as this will determine the therapeutic benefits that you can derive from the strain.

With that sorted, here are a few recipes to get looking forward to the next weekend.

We have shared before how to make cannabutter. In case you missed it, here is a simplified method that works just fine. 

How to Make Cannabutter

Ingredients

• 1 ounce of cannabis
• 25 ounces of coconut oil

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil on low to medium heat making sure not to burn it

2. Add the weed and stir continuously

3. Slow cook for 2 hours

4. Strain through a cheesecloth and store in a jar in a cool and dry place

Recipe 1: Pot Infused Skillet Zucchini

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 Cups sliced zucchini
• 2 ½ Cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 Medium red bell pepper cut into strips
• 2 Tablespoon cannabutter
• 1 Cup grated parmesan cheese

Method

1.   Cook and stir zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers in the cannabutter over medium to high heat for six minutes or until vegetables are crisp and tender.
2.   Remove from heat and sprinkle with parmesan cheese; cover.
3.   Let it stand for two minutes before serving.

Recipe 2: Pot Infused Pork Roast

Makes 6-8 servings

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Teaspoon dried sage leaves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons cannabutter
• 1 (5-7 pound) pork loin
• ½ Teaspoon pepper
• 2 Medium carrots, sliced
• 2 Medium onions, sliced
• 1 1/3 Cups water
• 1 Teaspoon browning and seasoning

 Method

1.    Preheat oven to 325F
2.    Combine ginger, garlic, sage, salt and cannabutter and rub over pork
3.   Place in a shallow roasting pan
4.   Roast pork for 1-2 hours
5.   Remove from oven and score it in diamond pattern
6.   Combine jelly and tabasco sauce and spread generously over pork
7.   Arrange onions and carrots around the meat
8.   Add one cup of water
9.   Roast for one hour or until the temperature of the meat is at 170 F.
10.   Remove from heat and serve on a platter when warm

Recipe 3: Crispy THC Fried Chicken

Makes 4 serving

Ingredients

• 2 Boneless chicken breasts halved
• 2 Tablespoons cannabutter
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ Teaspoon salt
• ½ Teaspoon pepper
• 1 Egg beaten
• ½ Cup butter

Method

1.   Place chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap
2.   Pound to ¼ inch thickness
3.   Rub cannabutter on the pounded chicken and coat with flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper
4.   Dip chicken breast into egg and press with almonds
5.   Melt butter in a large skillet over medium to high heat
6.   Cook chicken until almonds are toasted then turn
7.   Reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and juices run clear
8.   Garnish as desired and serve with the almond size up

Your guide to weed edibles is almost complete, the remaining part is for you to try out some of these tasty recipes and let us know how it goes.

Cannabis Cooking Courses

Looking to learn more about cooking with cannabis? Want to start your own edibles business? Want to make your own cannabutter? Looking to be the envy of all your friends with all your tasty pot brownies and CBD gummies? Learn how to become the next cannabis gourmet chef and earn your cooking with cannabis certification with CTU.