COOKING with CANNABIS
Winner , Winner Chicken Dinner
With Delicious Farm Fresh Chicken by Chef Dana Cunningham
We have been super busy around our farm , getting ready for the market to begin ! We have planted all sorts of fantastic veggies . I am so excited to taste some homegrown ! Last summer , I didn ’ t preserve enough , so now it is time to stock back up on all our amazing homegrown favorites . Speaking of homegrown , we are also a farm that relies heavily on growing our own chickens . Yes , I said we grow chickens ! Currently , we have 80 egg-laying-hens that range in all sizes and colors . Some of their eggs come out a beautiful brown , some speckled with freckles , some come out blue and green , and we even get some olive green . It looks like a beautiful egg rainbow when they are all together in a box !
Aside from our egg-laying hens , we also grow chickens for their meat . Our meat chickens are a different breed , and they are designed specifically for this purpose . I usually lose a few people during this conversation because many folks don ’ t want to think about where their chicken comes from . When we buy chicken at the grocery store , we don ’ t necessarily think about its origin . Those chicken breasts are all packaged up nicely in a line , but to believe that product came directly from a bird , or multiple birds ― from who knows where ― got me motivated to grow my own .
With our meat chickens , we usually raise batches of 50 birds at a time . They are kept outside in a mobile chicken box that we built ourselves . The box has no floor and is moved every day , ensuring that the chickens can scratch fresh ground , foraging for feed , and eating all the bugs they want daily . This not only cuts down on the feed we have to provide for them , but it also fertilizes our field and takes care of our pesky bug problem . I like to think that the chickens I eat are healthier because I know exactly how they have been treated and what they ate . We grow happy chickens this way ! Then in about eight weeks , they are ready to harvest . This recipe will include using one of those special birds !
Ingredients
1 whole chicken Honey to drizzle 4 tablespoons of infused butter Fresh cracked pepper Fresh cracked sea salt 2 tablespoons of paprika 2 tablespoons of thyme 1 medium yellow onion 3 carrots , cut into sticks 1 bunch of fresh arugula Blue cheese crumbles 1 roasted orange bell pepper sliced 1 bunch of asparagus 4 cloves of garlic
46 May 2023
The Method
1 . Preheat oven to 375 degrees . 2 . Place whole chicken in a cast iron skillet . 3 . Clean one medium yellow onion and place it into the cavity of the chicken . 4 . Melt infused butter and drizzle over the chicken to coat . 5 . Drizzle chicken with honey until coated . 6 . Evenly spread fresh cracked pepper , fresh cracked sea salt , paprika , 2 cloves of garlic , and thyme over the entire bird .
7 . In a bowl , toss asparagus , carrots , and bell pepper in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt , pepper , and 2 cloves of garlic . Set aside .
8 . Place the cast iron skillet with the chicken in the oven when it reaches 375 degrees , and roast for 30 minutes .
9 . After 30 minutes , bring out the cast iron skillet and place the asparagus , carrots , and peppers around the bird in the bottom of the pan .
10 . Tent the chicken with aluminum foil and place the skillet back in the oven for another 15 minutes .
11 . Once your meat thermometer reads 165 in the chicken thigh , the bird is done !
12 . Sometimes I let it slow roast at 250 degrees for a couple of hours . It all depends on how much time you have .
13 . Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes after bringing it out of the oven , and cut it into pieces . 14 . Place arugula on the plate and top with chicken and roasted vegetables . Drizzle over juice from the skillet and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles . Enjoy !
If you would like to purchase farm-fresh chicken , eggs , or vegetables , contact me via email . We ’ re always happy to help you !
Dana Cunningham is a Kansas City Native trained in French and American cuisine . She owns Infused KC , Kansas City ’ s CBD infusion think tank and focuses her culinary efforts on the farm-to-table concept at her four-acre homestead . She provides cooking classes in Kearney , MO . Follow her on Facebook , @ infusedkcmo or YouTube @ sunsetgrovekearney . Get your CBD at , www . infusedkc . com .