Welcome to Psychedelicatessen, a weekly column exploring the world of cannabis cuisine, including recipes from the great chefs and ganjapreneurs who fuel our appetite for adventure.
Raised in Michigan by a mom who found joy in cooking, Jacob Highyet learned early on that sharing food with the ones you love is a profoundly healing act. Now serving patients in Arizona by running a small edibles business, High Yet Foods, Jake focuses on nourishing bodies while also connecting with the hearts and minds of the people he feeds. “Bringing people together with food is what’s important to me,” he says, “feeding people was the way my mom served the community, and so I do the same thing!”
Focusing on creating a product with a long shelf life, Jacob created WeedItz, a cannabis-infused cheese cracker very similar to a mainstream brand, and has been working on changing his package design to avoid any potential copyright infringement. “The crackers are easy to customize,” Jake says, “I change the type of infused oil based on the patient’s needs.”
For patients infusing medical marijuana into their meals at home, Jake recommends using a high-quality fat that your body digests well. “I like Irish butter or cold-pressed olive oil,” Jake says, “and the infusion shouldn’t be too green, that means digestion could be problematic.” Some people have upset stomach or adverse reactions after ingesting too much chlorophyll, which is why Jake prefers cooking with kief, hash or concentrates. “Activation is key,” Jake says, “but so is digesting!”
Biscuits and gravy stick to your ribs, and are a staple of the classic comfort cookery that Jake learned at home. “The first things my mom taught me to make were pie crusts and biscuits, and I remember her saying ‘cut the flour into the butter until it’s the size of a pea,’” he reminisces, “I still make pies and biscuits all the time.” Jakes adds that the chicken bouillon is the ingredient that really delivers top-notch flavor to this dish, so make sure to get a high-quality bouillon and use it liberally.
Using the cannabutter for the gravy allows for easier dosing than if infused butter was integrated into the biscuits, although you can certainly infuse both components of this dish for extra potency! This dish is as laid-back and down-home as it gets, so whip this up from scratch on a Sunday morning and linger over coffee with your loved ones.
Meet Jacob on Sunday, July 27, at 1:30 at the Michigan Cannabis Cup Edibles Seminar!
Biscuits in Ganja Gravy
Makes approximately 12 biscuits
Stones 4 with gravy
Biscuit Ingredients
-4 cups of all-purpose flour
-4 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp Salt
-¾ cup shortening
-4 tbsp cold butter, cut into small chunks
-1 cup milk
-2 tbsp melted butter, or cannabutter
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
With a pastry blender (or two butter knives), cut in shortening, and add the cold butter chunks and blend until mixture forms a coarse crumble “the size of peas.” With a butter knife, cut in the mixture as you pour milk slowly and work until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and can form a moist soft ball.
Sprinkle dough on a floured surface. Roll out dough or pat to make a circle about ½ inch to 1 inch thick. Use a drinking glass, a mason jar, or any cookie cutter to cut out biscuit shapes. Re-roll the remnant dough pieces and cut more biscuits until all of the dough is used up.
Place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Place on the middle rack in the oven, too low could cause the bottoms of the biscuits to burn! Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until light brown. Spread the melted butter with pastry brush right before the biscuits come out of the oven. Serve warm, smothered in ganja gravy!
Sausage Ganja Gravy Ingredients
-1 lb pork sausage
-2 1/2 Cups Milk, divided
-½ Cup Flour
-1 tsp chicken bouillon
-2 tbs cannabutter
-Salt and Pepper to taste
Preparation:
First, brown your sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.
While the sausage is browning, put ½ cup milk and the flour in a Mason jar with lid screwed on tight (or use an airtight container), and shake it to make the thickening mixture for the gravy. Make sure there are no lumps. If you need to add more milk in the jar, do so and shake well.
After sausage is browned, pour the remaining milk into the pan and stir, scraping up the bits of meat stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken bouillon and stir.
Turn heat down to medium-low and add the thickening mixture, whisking as you bring the gravy to boil. Stir constantly to ensure gravy doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Once you’ve reached a boil, turn the heat to low, and keep stirring until the gravy has thickened.
Taste and add salt, pepper, or more bouillon if necessary. Add the cannabutter and stir to combine. If gravy seems too thick, just add some more milk and cook a little bit longer until the consistency is good for pouring over biscuits!
