By: Kelly Graham
Learning how to make cannabutter has become a rite of passage for any cannabis lovers that have ever been curious about making edibles from the comfort of their own home. The long-standing tradition of marrying THC to butter is truly a match made in heaven.
Butter makes the perfect pair for cannabis because it’s rich in flavor, it’s a prominent player in classic recipes like brownies and chocolate chip cookies, and most importantly – it’s super fatty. THC loves fat, which means it will easily bind to anything that has a high-fat content, like butter.
All you need to turn your everyday butter into cannabutter is a few kitchen essentials, cannabis, and this Miss Marijuana cannabutter recipe.
How to dose cannabutter
It’s time to do a little math, but it’s not hard, I promise. Learning how to responsibly dose your edibles is key to your future as a cannachef. The math behind figuring out what’s in your cannabutter looks a little like this:
Let’s say you have 2 grams of weed that has 20% THC. There are 1,000 milligrams in every gram so 20% of 2 grams = 400mg of THC. You’re going to inevitably lose some of the potency in the infusion process unless you’re a cannabis wizard. Let’s say you get a 75% yield which would leave you with roughly 300mg.
If you make a dozen cookies with this cannabutter, each cookie will have 25mg of THC. There you have it! Simple!
Let’s do this.
How to make cannabutter
What You’ll Need:
- 2-5 grams of cannabis flower (use more or less depending on your desired strength)
- 4 oz salted or unsalted butter (feel free to use more or less, the process remains the same)
- Water
- Mason jar
- Cookie sheet with a lip
- Aluminum foil
- Grinder
- Pot
- Strainer (cheesecloth if you have it)
- Airtight container
- Rubber Spatula/Spoon
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 235℉.
2. Line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Grind up your flower. Be sure to not grind it up too fine! It just needs to be broken down slightly.
4. Place your ground-up flower onto the aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil. This will help prevent the flower from burning.
5. Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. This step is called decarboxylation. Toasting the weed at a low temperature activates the THC and maximizes your final THC yield. Do not skip this step!
6. While your flower is decarbing in the oven, fill your mason jar with the butter and set aside.
7. Fill the pot with water and put it onto the stovetop on medium heat. The goal is to get the water close to boiling, but not quite.
8. After 45 minutes have passed, take your decarbed flower out of the oven. Peel the aluminum off of the cookie sheet and carefully dump the flower into the mason jar with the butter. Tightly seal the jar with the lid.
9. Place your tightly sealed jar, with the butter and cannabis inside, into the pot of almost boiling water. You should see bubbles on the side of the pot or a slight rolling on the surface.
When you reach that sweet spot between boiling and not, lower the heat and keep it at that middle ground for the remainder of the infusion process.
Be careful not to let the jar tip over or let the water get too hot as this will degrade the THC! Keep a close eye on your infusion and adjust the water level and temperature as needed throughout the day.
10. Let the butter infuse for the next 3-5 hours. Roll yourself up something nice.
11. After 3-5 hours have passed, take your jar out of the pot. Place a strainer over an airtight container and pour your butter into it, straining out any plant matter as you go. If you have cheesecloth, line your strainer with it.
Press lightly on the flower with a rubber spatula or spoon to make sure every last drop of buttery goodness is squeezed out. Seal your airtight container and allow the butter to cool and harden. Once the butter is completely cool, it’s ready to use!
Congratulations, you made cannabutter! Now you have everything you need to make your very own edibles all while relaxing on your couch. Try this cannabutter recipe at home and let us know what you think!
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Kelly Graham is a cannabis chef and writer who focuses on cannabis food and culture.