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.
Promising young chef Payton Curry opened a string of restaurants after graduating from Culinary Institute of America, succeeding with Brat Haus, a Scottsdale beer and sausage joint, in 2012. Steeped in farm-to-table ideals and a do-it-yourself attitude, Curry specializes in charcuterie, making his own sausages, pates, liverwurst and German-style pretzels to be paired with fine beers. But after a troubling drinking problem led to a DUI, Payton had an herbal awakening, and ditched alcohol in favor of marijuana. “I said ‘Holy shit, it’s time to re-evaluate what I’m doing,’” Payton remembers, “I was drinking to deal with feelings of anxiety and pressure.”
After researching the health benefits of medical cannabis, Payton decided to offer his culinary expertise to Arizona patients in need of nutritious, cannabis-infused edibles, and so he added this service to his consulting company, Curryosity, and recently launched the website, marijuanarecipes.com. “I source a lot of products from small local farmers, and I realized I should know who’s growing my ‘hippie lettuce’ as well,” Curry says. “I’ve had people in the restaurant world tell me I’m committing culinary suicide (by getting involved with pot), but they’re talking shit about something they don’t understand.”
Now Curry works with 40 families as a personal chef, a custom edibles-maker and nutritional consultant. “It’s not about getting high all the time,” Payton says, describing his work with a young boy with epilepsy and autism who was previously self-injurious, but now plays with Legos. “It’s rewarding to see these children getting healthier. We’re juicing raw leaf that doesn’t get you high; I’m designing treatment plans for these parents to use.”
Curry teaches families how to create tinctures using local honey, nutritious edibles, and raw drinks that bring healing and balance to their lives. “I don’t want to see someone who’s 9 or 99 smoking a joint, it’s just not healthy, but when elderly people see the benefits to their lifestyle there’s no going back,” Curry says, sharing how salves and topicals helped his grandmother. “It’s really catching on here in Arizona!”
During the holiday season, replace your regular egg nog with this intoxicating beverage that’s “dessert in a glass,” according to Chef Curry. “People who come to my holiday party know what to expect,” Curry says. “We’ve got Santa Kush passing out joints!”
The richness of the drink makes it tough to overdo it, but it’s important to know your limits. Combining both buds and bourbon along with a ton of calories, this is definitely nog to use responsibly! “I like to use high-CBD strains when combining with alcohol,” Curry says, “It’s like a hangover cure that balances out the bourbon.” Make sure you’re using local, organic eggs since they’re being consumed raw, and if you have a compromised immune system or just don’t trust your eggs, get pasteurized ones instead.
Egg Nug
Ingredients
• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 Cup HoneyBuzz,* warmed
• 2 Cups Half & Half
• 1 Cup CannaCream*
• 6 ounces bourbon
• 1 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 egg whites
• 1 tbsp sugar
*Recipes follow
Directions
Throw the yolks into a stand mixer and beat on high for 3-5 minutes, until they look nice and light. Slowly start pouring in the warmed honey and beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the Half & Half, cream, bourbon, nutmeg and cinnamon and stir it up! Remove from mixer and set aside.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk this mixture into your yolk mixture and serve!
Honey Buzz
Ingredients
• 2 Cups organic honey
• 14 g Cannabis (decarboxylated)
• 1 Cup water
Directions
Place cannabis into your crock pot and turn on high. Once pot is fragrant, pour in the water and bring to a simmer. Pour in your honey and cook for 3 to 5 hours. Strain the cannabis out and reserve your honey.
Canna Cream
Ingredients
• 1 qt cream
• 1 oz marijuana trim (or 14 g kief)
• 2 Cups Half & Half
Directions
Put in Crock Pot on medium, add all ingredients and steep for 3 hours. Strain the cannabis out and reserve your cream.