Cannabutter or cannabis-infused butter is the base of making edibles with cannabis. While many people think that you can simply mix the cannabis in the butter and you are done, it is not as simple. There are a right and a wrong way of making your own cannabutter and here we’ll cover the right way.
Butter is a very tasty fat, and, like a match made in heaven, THC and the other cannabinoids can be dissolved in fat. So these get dissolved in butter. Here we’ll offer some tricks you can use to make a proper dosage of butter vs. cannabis and you will get a good batch of cannabutter that you can use in your home-made edibles.
Simple Steps On How To Make Cannabutter
Here are the simple steps required for those that wish to make their own cannabutter. Sure, you can buy it as well, but there’s nothing like homemade butter.
Prepare the cannabis
To make a good batch of cannabutter, the first thing you need to do is decarboxylate or “decarb” the cannabis. If you avoid this step, your finished product will be less potent and you will get disappointed in your finished edibles.
For proper decarb-ing of the cannabis, you will need an oven heated to 245°F (or 120°C), an oven tray and some parchment paper. And of course the cannabis buds. Spread them evenly on the parchment-lined oven tray and place them in the heated oven for about half an hour. The time should be longer for fresher buds and shorter for older buds. Make sure you mix the buds several times during the decarboxylation process so they can be evenly heated from all sides.
And after 30 minutes the decarb of the cannabis is done, and it needs to be coarsely ground so it will be ready to be used to make cannabutter.
Make cannabutter (on the stove method)
You will need a good quality non-stick pot or a small saucepan (it has a convenient handle). Add a cup of butter and a cup of water in the pot and let it melt on a very low temperature. The water is there to act as a medium to prevent burning of the butter.
After most of the butter melts, stir in the ground cannabis that you have previously decarbed. Then mix it slowly and be careful not to overheat the butter over 200°F (95°C) and keep it slightly above 160°F (70°C). it should simmer for about two hours until the water has evaporated, but the butter should never boil (as it will ruin the fun ingredients).
After it is done, you need to strain it to remove the ground cannabis plant particles, as they can have a bitter taste and ruin your hard work. Strain the butter through a fine mesh strainer or a cheesecloth. Allow it to cool, close the jar and keep the now ready cannabutter in the fridge until you need it. Be careful, as cannabutter does not have a long shelf-life and can go rancid fast.
Make cannabutter (in a slow cooker method)
After you have coarsely ground your decarboxylated cannabis, put it in a slow cooker, add in the butter and a little water, and set the temperature right above 160°F (70°C). if you put it on a high temperature, the THC and other cannabinoids will burn off and you will not get real cannabutter.
Leave it on for about three hours, and stir it occasionally to enable even spread of the THC, CBD and the cannabinoids in the butter. Turn off the slow cooker, strain the butter and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
How much cannabutter to use?
The potency of the cannabutter you have made at home will depend on the strain of cannabis you have used, on the cooking temperature and cooking time. When you finish the cannabutter, you can test it for its kick – spread about a half teaspoon of it on a cracker, eat it and wait about an hour. You will feel the effects of the cannabutter and will know if you need to add less or more for the desired effect.
This way you will know how much to use in your next batch of edibles. Make sure you remind the people eating the homemade cannabutter cookies of the punch they pack.
What type of butter to use? That is entirely up to you, and you can select the one you normally use for cooking or the one whose taste you like best. I guess the good news here is that you’ve got plenty of options. Now get in the kitchen and start cooking!
