How to Have the Perfect Cannabis BBQ For the 4th of July

Happy Birthday, America!

That’s right. The 4th of July is almost here!

And here are three quick fun facts about the U.S. of A’s birthday:

• The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, which means America is 243 years old!
• America’s birthday is in early July, which means its zodiac sign is Cancer. Do with that what you will.
• You can infuse cannabis into practically any food or beverage, so if you’re looking to have a cannabis BBQ on the 4th of July, you’re reading the right post!

Now…there’s two basic ways to approach a cannabis BBQ.

You can do it simple and low-key. Or you can do a more “robust” BBQ with main dishes, side dishes, and all that good stuff.

Let’s start with the low-key, simple stuff and work our way up.

Cannabis Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

Hot dogs and hamburgers are staples of the low-key BBQ. Whether you use beef, turkey, or some version of veggie, it doesn’t matter. Just choose something you like.

The cannabis-infusion is going to come mainly from your garnishes in the form of a butter or sauce.

Evergreen Organix makes cannabutter, which you can spread on both your hot dog and your hamburger buns before you load up on all the fixins.

Cannabis Salad

If you want to eat something healthy, like a nice summer salad, you can top it off with cannabis-infused salad dressing.

To make your own dressing, you can use one of these cannabis tinctures and a Good Season Italian Dressing Cruet Kit.

The cruet kit comes with easy-to-follow instructions. Once you’ve made the dressing, use the tincture’s dosing guidelines to add as many drops to the dressing as you want!

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With cannabis-infused burgers, hot dogs, and salad, you’ve met the basic requirements of a cannabis BBQ. Well done!

But if you want to spice things up and put a bit more elbow grease into your 4th of July feast, here are some more scrumptious BBQ recipes for ya. Just remember: all of the recommended cannabutter servings are rough estimates. You’ll need to adjust the amount of cannabutter you use depending on your tolerance level.

First one up: homemade apple cider BBQ sauce!

Apple Cider Cannabis BBQ Sauce

(adapted from Leafly)

What You Need

• 1/4 cup of cannabutter
• 1 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• 2 Granny Smith apples (they should already be cored, peeled, and chopped)
• 2 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 2/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup of a pale lager beer
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of blackstrap molasses
• 6 squirts of Louisiana Crystal Hot Sauce
• 4 teaspoons of brown sugar
• 12 turns of cracked black pepper
• 2 teaspoon of chili powder
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of cumin
• A blender

How to Make It:

• Melt the cannabutter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions and apples. Saute until soft (don’t let it brown!) for about 5 minutes.
• Add cumin, salt, and chili powder and continue to saute for 30 seconds. Add beer to the pan and stir to remove everything from the bottom.
• Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t let it boil too hard, as that can reduce the potency of the cannabutter.
• Let the sauce cool. Pour it into a blender and “pulse” it several times with the top covered but not air sealed (you can place a kitchen towel over the opening). The mixture should be just a little chunky.

Grilled Cannabis BBQ Chicken Thighs

(also adapted from Leafly)

What You Need:

• 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs (excess fat removed)
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon of peanut oil
• cannabis apple cider BBQ sauce

How to Make Them:

1. Mix all the spices and apply to the chicken. Drizzle peanut oil over each piece evenly. Leave in the refrigerator for 2–3 hours.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Take the thighs out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
3. Grill the chicken for about 25 minutes, turning all the pieces four times while grilling.
4. Allow the thighs to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
5. Add your cannabis-infused apple cider BBQ sauce as you plate as each portion.

Cannabis Baked Beans

(adapted from The Cannabist)

What You Need:

• A crockpot
• 2/3 cups of smoky BBQ sauce
• 2/3 cup of ketchup
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of cannabutter
• 2/3 teaspoons of mustard
• 4 cans of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 large chopped onion
• 1 cup of cooked pork

How to Make It:

• Put all the ingredients in the crockpot and mix them well, combining everything.
• Set the crockpot on “low” to protect the potency of the cannabinoids.
• Cook for 8-10 hours, checking and stirring every 45 minutes.

Cannabis Deviled Eggs

(adapted from Simply Recipes)

What You Need:

• 1 dozen large organic eggs
• 2 teaspoons of honey mustard
• 1 tablespoon of cannabutter
• 1/3 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika

How to Make It:

• Fill a saucepan with an inch of water and insert a steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil and place the eggs in the basket. If you don’t have a steamer basket, just place the eggs in about 3/4 inches of water
• Cover the pan and steam the eggs from the boiling water for 17 minutes. Then place them in ice cold water for 5-15 minutes.
• Peel the eggs. Slice each egg in half, lengthwise. Gently remove all the yolks and put them in a small mixing bowl. Place the egg white halves on a serving platter.
• Mash up the yolk with mustard, mayonnaise, onion, cannabutter, Tabasco sauce, and a bit of salt and pepper. Add additional mayonnaise if you want to make the eggs creamier.
• Spoon the yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika.

Cannabis Mac and Cheese

(adapted from All Recipes)

What You Need:

• 8-ounce box of elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup of cannabutter
• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• Ground black pepper

How to Make It:

• Boil slightly salted water in a large pot.
• Add the elbow macaroni to the boiling water, stirring it occasionally until it’s cooked al dente (firm to the bite), about 8 minutes. Drain the water.
• Melt the cannabutter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour, salt, and pepper and stir for 5 minutes until it’s smooth.
• Slowly pour the milk into the butter-flour mix while stirring. Continue to stir the mixture for about 5 minutes, until it’s smooth and bubbling. Don’t let it get too hot so the milk doesn’t burn!
• Add the cheddar cheese and stir until the cheese is entirely melted.
• Add macaroni to the cheese sauce until it’s completely coated.

What to Drink on the 4th of July

If you want a sweet, cannabis-infused beverage, look no further than CannaPunch. Flavors include Pineapple Mango Delight, Watermelon Nectar, and Granddaddy Grape, to name a few.

A friendly reminder: unless you’ve got a high tolerance level, you don’t want to chug these drinks. They’re more like shots, not chasers!

Want something refreshing that’ll also help you stay hydrated? We’ve also got EpiQ Water. It contains the relaxing, non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD as well as alkaline mineral nutrients.

Finally, if you’re in the mood for beer (it’s 4th of July, after all) we’d be remiss if we didn’t recommend New Belgium’s The Hemperor HPA. New Belgium has figured out how to recreate terpene flavors in a hoppy beer that’s also made with hemp seed. It’s pretty tasty, and most importantly, it’ll still be in keeping with the theme of your BBQ!

Essence 4th of July Sale!

Yes, we’ll be offering a special sale on the 4th of July! Visit our Deals page for updates. Better yet, go to our Sign Up page and sign up to receive text alerts from us. Then you’ll be the first to know when the sale is going down and what we’re offering!

And if you need to pick up cannabutter, cannabis tinctures, CannaPunch, EpiQ water, or something else for your 4th of July BBQ, visit us at any of our three locations around the valley — Las Vegas Strip, Tropicana West, and Henderson — and one of our dispensary consultants will be sure to help you out.

You can also place your order online for either pickup or delivery!

Happy 4th of July!