Cooking with Cannabis: Bacon Fat and Browned Butter Caramelized Pears

With abundant crops of heirloom and antique pears all over the Pacific Northwest, they naturally become a major part of your seasonal culinary repertoire for a young chef like myself who resides in the area (and picks a lot of pears). Sweet and savory, juicy and tender, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert, it's not odd to find a specific variety of pear on your plate shortly after the middle of September. Arriving in the Pacific Northwest with the pioneers, the first pear trees found their way to the region by way of The Lewis and Clark Trail. Having a firm, dense flesh and the ability to retain their shape and texture during cooking, the Kaiser Alexander (a.k.a.The Bosc pear) is my pick for cooking. It’s crisp, woodsy with a wildflower honey-like sweetness, and a somewhat buttery texture. Usually in season from September to late November, they are easily found in any produce market in the region. Adding to the overall aromatic aspects of the recipe, shared terpenes present in the cannabis, the pear, the rosemary, and the cracked black pepper all add their own complementary terpene characteristics. Wonderful aromas and health benefits are added bonuses, and this recipe should be enjoyed when the Bosc pear is at its peak of ripeness.

Bacon Fat and Browned Butter Caramelized Pears

prep time: 15-20 minutes

cook time: 1 hour

yield: 6-8 servings

total thc/cbd: 120mg cbd/40mg thc

equipment needed:

chef's knife, cutting board, large sauté pan or cast-iron skillet, lined baking sheet, tongs, serving platter

Provisions Needed:

2 + 2 tbsp salted creamery butter

6 organic bosc pears (peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges)

1 tsp Jacobsen sea salt flakes

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tbsp bacon fat (aka: liquid gold)

2 tbsp salted creamery butter

3 sprigs organic fresh rosemary (3" long)

1bottle fairwinds cannabis cbd companion (100mg cbd, 20mg thc)

1 tsp fresh organic rosemary leaves (rough chopped)

1 tbsp fresh organic apple cider

2 packages ruby cannabis sugar (10mg cbd/10mg thc per packet)

How To Make It:

1. preheat oven to 425°F

2. place pear wedges on a buttered, lined baking sheet

3. season with some salt + pepper

4. sprinkle the pears with the rough chopped rosemary leaves

5. bake until just barely tender (about 10 minutes)

6. let cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours

7. in a large sauté pan or cast-iron skillet add some butter and bacon fat, add pears in batches and caramelize both sides to your liking until all pears are done

8. season with salt + pepper, set aside on your desired serving platter

9. in the same pan you caramelize the pears in add the remaining butter, the rosemary sprigs, some salt and more pepper

10. over medium-high heat let the butter brown but not burn... about 4-5 minutes

11. add the apple cider, the cbd companion + ruby cannabis sugar

12. stirring, off the heat to incorporate all ingredients

13. pour this liquid mixture over the pears on the platter

14. enjoy hot, warm or at room temperature

*a wonderful accompaniment to a pork crown roast, a roasted turkey, a lamb roast, or on a salad with crumbled blue cheese