How to Make Cannabis Butter: Step-by-Step Instructions

Cannabis butter, also known as cannabutter, is one of the most basic and most popular ways to create edibles. Because butter is delicious, versatile, and high in fat molecules (as well as oils like coconut, olive, and vegetable oil), it’s a great medium for cannabis infusions.

A few hours is required for the infusion, but it’s simple to complete and this recipe will guide even novices through the procedure.

Start with a small amount and work your way up: If you’re using cannabis butter to make food, start with a little bit and wait 45-60 minutes for the effects to manifest before consuming more.

How is cannabis butter used to make edibles?

You may use cannabis butter to make any baked goods or simply spread on some toast or other food once you’ve infused butter with cannabis. Cannabis butter is frequently used to prepare marijuana brownies, cookies, and cakes.

You may use any amount of v in a recipe, half cannabis butter and half regular butter, or some other proportion of regular to cannabis butter for lesser effects.

To properly infuse cannabis with butter, it must first be decarboxylated. This process transforms THCA in the plant into THC, activating the plant’s psychoactive potential in your edibles. Heat is required for decarboxylation. When you put a flame to a bowl or joint, heat from the fire decarboxylates the plant material, converting THCA to THC, which will get you high. For cannabis butter making, low-temperature heating of cannabis in an oven before mixing it into the cream results in decarboxylation.

Note that dosing homemade edibles is difficult. This article will provide you with some dosage suggestions, but all DIY cannabis chefs should be aware that potency and uniformity of a batch of edibles cannot always be verified.

How to make cannabis butter

Making cannabis butter is inexpensive, straightforward, and requires just a few items (in addition to some time and patience). Keep in mind that marijuana butter burns quickly; keep an eye on it while it cooks.

Why decarboxylation is necessary for making cannabis butter

To create cannabutter, you must first decarboxylate or “decarb” the cannabis flower. Butter made without following this step will be ineffective.

As previously said, decarboxylation converts THCA to THC using heat, allowing the butter to have THC and provide euphoric benefits.

Some recipes, on the other hand, necessitate putting cannabis straight into hot butter. Decarbing before will make your cannabis butter more effective and the lesser amount of time spent soaking buds, the better your infused butter will taste. As a result, we recommend decarbing in an oven first.

Materials

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Oven
• Saucepan, stock pot, double-boiler, or slow cooker
• Mesh strainer or cheesecloth
• Container for cannabutter
• Cannabis grinder (optional)

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup ground cannabis (7-10 grams of Black Gold), decarboxylated

We recommend a 1:1 ratio of cannabis to butter when making cannabis butter. Use less cannabis if you want milder effects.

Basic cannabutter recipe

1. Decarb the cannabis. Preheat the oven to 245°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the loosely crushed cannabis on it. Gently stir the buds every 10-15 minutes to expose all sides of the buds for 30-40 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. (Degrading, older cannabis may require less time to heat.)
2. Tip: Use your oven to quickly warm up the kitchen. Set it to 300°F and leave it for 10-15 minutes, or until completely heated through.
3. Grind or break up the cannabis. Grinders break down the cannabis to a similar consistency, so you’ll save time, but you may just as easily smash it with your hands. Keep in mind that anything small enough to pass through the mesh strainer or cheesecloth will be included in your end product, so make sure not to grind the cannabis into a fine powder.
4. Melt the butter. In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter on low heat. To keep the temperature consistent and prevent the butter from scorching, add 1 cup of water.
5. Add the cannabis. After the butter has completely melted, add the decarboxylated cannabis.
6. Simmer. Simmer on low heat, between 160 and 200 degrees F; don’t let the temperature exceed 200 degrees F to avoid scorching out the cannabinoids. Simmer for 2-3 hours, giving it a good stir now and again.
7. Strain the mixture. In a jar or other container, mix the butter/marijuana. Remove and discard the plant material from the mixture using a mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Don’t squeeze out every last drop of butter—this will include chlorophyll, which has a terrible plant flavor.
8. Refrigerate. Place the solid butter in the refrigerator to set before using it. Allow it to harden overnight or at least several hours if possible. If there is more liquid at the bottom of the jar than butter, scoop out the solids with a knife and drain any water that has accumulated.

Why calculating edible dosage is difficult

There are several factors to consider when combining cannabis with butter. There is no precise science or formula for cannabutter. Cannabutter’s strength is determined by a few variables, making dosing difficult.

• Potency of cannabis used
• How long you heat it when infusing
• Temperature while infusing

The impact of terpenes on the final product is debatable because there are so many variables involved. This makes it difficult to measure and impossible to link certain terpenes with one another: Cannabis having 23% THC does not always have 5% more strength than cannabis with 17% THC; heating cannabutter for two hours instead of one does not always result in a greater potency; and heating it at 180°F rather than 170°F will not always make it stronger.

It’s challenging to measure the potency of your home-grown edibles without trying a little amount. Try putting out a quarter or half teaspoon on a snack and seeing how you feel after an hour. Then make adjustments as needed. This individualized dosage may be used as a recipe starting point. If you’re making a large number of edibles, multiply your personalized ratio by the quantity of servings; for example, if you’re making 9 brownies, divide it by 9; if you want 16 brownies, divide it by 16; and so on.)

Cannabis to butter ratio: How to make cannabutter milder or stronger

In our weed butter recipe, we suggest using a 1:1 ratio of cannabis to butter. Our method above calls for 1 cup butter and 1 cup cannabis.

However, if your cannabis butter is too potent, you may always use regular butter in addition to cannabutter if you want something milder. For example, 1/2 cup of butter may be used instead of 1/2 cup cannabutter and 1/2 cup normal butter, or another combination of fat and cannabutter.

If the 1:1 ratio of weed to butter seems too powerful, you can use half as much cannabis flower—try 1/2 cup of ground flower, or 3-4 grams, to each cup of butter.

In the same way, if you want cannabutter to be more powerful, add more: 1 1/4 cups ground flower to 1 cup butter or more.

You can’t improve cannabutter’s potency once you’ve made it—the only way to get more out of it is to eat more, or consume additional foods prepared with it.

Edibles recipes: What to make with cannabis butter

After you’ve created some marijuana butter, the possibilities for baked goods and meals are virtually infinite.

A brownie recipe from Martha Stewart and a peanut butter cookie recipe are some of our all-time favorites—the peanut butter can hide the planty flavor of marijuana, if that’s not your thing. Before cooking any meal, add a little bit of cannabis butter to the burner or skillet. Get inventive! Anything that needs butter may be cooked in cannabutter for an extra stony taste.