Joan Nathan’s Weed-Infused Lemon Roast Chicken
Image by Marcus Nilsson © 2018
Yield: 4 servings
THC: 5.7 mg per serving; 22.8 mg total recipe
Joan Nathan is basically the grand dame of Jewish home cooking. Even though she had never even seen weed in her life before coming on Bong Appétit, she was completely down to experiment. The result? This ultra-lemony roast chicken that uses both fresh lemons and preserved lemons to maximum advantage. Use a citrusy strain of herb, like Lemon Skunk, to round out the experience.
One 3-to 4-pound whole chicken
2 tablespoons flower-infused olive oil (see separate recipe)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons za’atar
1 teaspoon ground sumac
1 preserved lemon, halved and 1⁄2 diced
8 thyme sprigs
4 rosemary sprigs
2 sage sprigs
1 yellow onion, cut into about 8 pieces
2 lemons, thinly sliced into rounds
1 celery stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
3⁄4 cup dry white wine
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Rub the chicken with the infused olive oil, then season with salt, pepper, as much of the za’atar as you like, and the sumac.
Place the chicken, breast-side up, in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Put the preserved lemon half and a sprig each of the thyme, rosemary, and sage in the cavity. Scatter the onion pieces, lemon slices, diced preserved lemon, celery, carrot, fennel, and remaining thyme, rosemary, and sage around the chicken. Pour in the wine.
Roast the chicken until golden brown and crispy and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh away from bone registers 165°F, about 1 1⁄4 hours.
Remove the chicken from the oven, let rest for about 10 minutes, and then cut into eight pieces. Arrange the pieces on a platter and spoon the vegetables, preserved lemon and lemon slices, and pan juices over and around the chicken. Serve immediately.
Weed-Infused Oil by MUNCHIES Test Kitchen
Yield: 3⁄4 cup
THC IN MILLIGRAMS
1 tsp, 1 Tbsp, ¼ cup, ½ cup, ¾ cup
Flower-Infused Oil
3.5, 10.4, 41.6, 83.2, 124.8
Kief-Infused Oil
2.8, 8.4, 33.6, 67.2, 100
This is the simplest, easiest way to get weed into food and then into yourself. It’s a neat and clean method of infusing different oils simultaneously. Plus, it keeps the smells contained, for those of you with less-chill neighbors.
You can infuse cannabis into any type of oil. We typically use infused olive oil in salad dressings, marinades, and salsas; our infused canola is in a dipping sauce that accompanies pork wontons; and infused coconut oil goes into the Strawberry “Cheesecake” and the whipped honey.
Infusing raw kief into olive oil won’t return the most potent oil, but the oil will be subtle and nicely flavored, making it appropriate for use in recipes where simple flavors would be overwhelmed by a grassy cannabis taste. Drizzle it over fresh pasta or the focaccia. Use a flower-infused olive oil for the tomato salad or the panzanella-inspired salad, where the flavors complement the grassy taste of this oil, which is easy to dose at 10 milligrams THC per 1 tablespoon.
You can infuse a number of different oils simultaneously with this method, which keeps each oil in its own canning jar. (Label the top of each jar to avoid confusion.) If you are infusing coconut oil, you will need to melt it first, as it is solid at room temperature.
Equipment
12-ounce canning jar with lid
Stockpot
Kitchen towel
Silicone oven mitt or jar tongs
Mesh strainer
Cheesecloth
Liquid measuring cup
1 cup oil; such as olive, coconut, grapeseed, or canola
3 grams cannabis flower or 1 gram raw kief
Pour the oil into the canning jar. Add the cannabis material and stir to combine. Seal the jar tightly.
Stand the jar upright in the stockpot and add water until it is level with the top of the jar. Place the stockpot, uncovered, over high heat and bring to a low boil. Let boil for 2 hours, checking the water every now and again and adding more as needed to maintain the original level. After the first hour, “burp” the jar by unsealing the lid to release any pressure buildup and then recap it.
After 2 hours, lay the kitchen towel on a heatproof work surface. Using the oven mitt, remove the jar from the water, set it on the towel, and let cool until it can be handled. Then, while the oil is still liquid, line the strainer with the cheesecloth and strain the oil into the measuring cup, squeezing any solids at the very end to extract all of the fat. Compost or discard the plant matter. If you used kief, there’s no need to strain.
Use right away, or transfer to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 3 months.
Pro Tip: An infused oil made with kief will taste better than one made with flower. We used raw kief for this infusion. For a big potency boost, decarboxylate your kief by toasting in a 240°F oven for 30 minutes before infusing.
Vanessa Says: For the basic infusion of flower into fat, you’ll find plenty of information about decarboxylation, or heating cannabis to release carboxylic acid and activate the flower before infusing it into fat. I am more concerned with how long the flower is infused into fat. The longer a plant is steeped in fat, the more bitter green flavor will be pulled.
Comparison of THC Content of Olive Oil Infused with Decarboxylated Flower and Raw Kief
Type of Cannabis Ingredient
Flower: Forbidden Fruit strain (toasted for 60 minutes to decarb)
Kief: Forbidden Fruit strain (raw)
Amount of Each Infusion Ingredient
3 g flower in 1 cup olive oil
1 g kief in 1 cup olive oil
Activated THC
10.4 mg per 1 Tbsp
8.4 mg per 1 Tbsp
THC Content
0.8 mg/g, 0.7 mg/ml
0.6 mg/g, 0.6 mg/ml
Acidic THC Content
0.3 mg/g, 0.3 mg/ml
2.3 mg/g, 2.2 mg/ml
Reprinted with permission from Bong Appétit: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Weed by the Editors of MUNCHIES, copyright © 2018. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
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