How to Make Cannabutter – Brownies, Gummies and More Recipes
Learn about the ingredients and procedure to make cannabutter. Prepare the richest edibles with these recipes using your own cannabutter concentrate.
Why Butter?
Butter is an ideal product for cooking with cannabis because THC is fat soluble. Pulling THC from cannabis into foods requires a fat into which the THC can dissolve.
Tools
Activate the THC
To start, you’ll need access to an oven, a crockpot, and a baking sheet. To get your flower ready, you will need to decarboxylate it. Set your oven temperature to 240 degrees Fahrenheit and line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently break up room temperature cannabis flower to spread over the parchment paper. Lightly cover the flower with tinfoil.
Bake your cannabis flower for 40 minutes to activate the THC. When working out how to make cannabutter, activating the THC is the most critical step. If you overheat the cannabis, you run the risk of creating CBN. If you struggle with insomnia, CBN can help, but it’s a waste of a very good flower.
Once the timer goes off, pull out the flower and let it come to room temperature before you touch the tinfoil or you may disturb the fixing of the terpenes in the oil. It will also cut down on odor, if there’s a risk that a neighbor may be bothered.
Draw the THC Into the Butter
Put one stick or 4 ounces of unsalted butter in a wide mouth mason jar with a lid. To this, add your decarboxylated flower. It’s important to use unsalted butter because too much salt can draw out the bitter or “green” flavor of the flower, which may damage the quality of your butter and baked goods.
Place the jar in your slow cooker with room temperature water deep enough to wrap the jar but not so much that the jar floats. Leave the lid on the jar loose. Heat this butter on low for no more than 8 hours.
The longer you cook your cannabis butter, the more green or potent it will be in taste. If using the low setting, cook at least for 6 hours to gain all the benefits.
Strain and Store
Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and pour the butter through into an airtight container. Another jar will work; just make sure the lid is new and that the storage jar is slightly wider at the mouth than the pour jar. If you have silicone kitchen gloves, this is the time to use them. You will want to squeeze the melted butter out of the cheesecloth to get all the benefits.
Put a lid on the storage jar and refrigerate for use within three weeks. If you need to store it longer, freeze it for up to six months. Make small batches to avoid spoilage and make sure you sniff it before you use it; this cannabutter recipe is not terribly fiddly, but making cannabutter in too big a batch can lead to spoiling and a loss of your product. Don’t make more than you plan to use in the next couple of weeks.
Monitor Your Reaction
If your first batch just made you drowsy, you will want to back off the heat. When working out how to make cannabutter stronger, it may be tempting to boost the heat or the baking time. However, cannabis chemistry can be touchy. Too much heat will render your THC a basic sleeping aid. This can be nice, but if you’re going for the therapeutic benefits of THC, CBN is not as helpful as it might be.
What To Make
You can find recipes using cannabutter on the web, or just use your favorite recipe containing butter and up the intensity with cannabutter. Cannabutter blends well into chocolate and pairs well with caramel. If you’re concerned about a strong green flavor, top your cannabutter brownies with dark chocolate shavings and a bit of sea salt for a more grown up flavor.
Cannabutter also pairs beautifully with eggs. If you’re in the mood to wake and bake, fix yourself a hearty cannabis omelette to start the day off right. Fresh eggs, luscious cheese, and a pat of cannabutter will boost your weekend relaxation. Grilled veggies and greens will also pair well with the flavor of your cannabutter.
Cannabutter is a terrific way to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of THC, especially if you prefer not to smoke. Just make sure to prepare small batches that you know you will use up as you build your collection of recipes using cannabutter.
