Cannabutter is one of the best ways to infuse foods with cannabis and create an edible. You can consume THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids orally by eating an edible instead of smoking marijuana. Though you can purchase edibles from a reputable dispensary, making cannabutter lets you infuse your favorite foods with quality weed.
At Cannabis & Glass, we know all about cannabutter and edibles. As a prominent Washington dispensary, our cannabis experts know the best ways to infuse butter with weed, which we explain below.
Before you follow our cannabutter guide, head to Cannabis & Glass to explore our selection of marijuana flowers to use in your recipe.
Get Your Cannabis
You need high-quality cannabis to make potent cannabutter. Most people make cannabutter with shake or trim, the leftover leaves trimmed from a marijuana plant after harvesting. However, those leaves have excess chlorophyll, which can add bitterness to your infused butter.
Grinder kief or hash are better options, but starting with one gram of high-quality cannabis flower may be best when making cannabutter for the first time. Cannabis flower is already harvested, dried, and cured, making it ready for smoking.
Ensure that you know the THCA percentage of your selected cannabis flower before making the butter. THCA, or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, is THC’s original form in live and cured flowers before they’re heated. When heated, THCA becomes THC, so knowing the actual THCA level can help you gauge your cannabutter’s potency.
Once you procure your weed, grind it carefully before heating it. Grinding decarbed cannabis can ruin a grinder, so it’s best to do this step first.
Other Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Besides a gram of cannabis flower, you’ll need the following tools and ingredients:
- Parchment
- Aluminum foil
- One cup of butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup of water
- A saucepan
- A fine mesh strainer
- Candy thermometer
- Food-safe container
How to Make Cannabutter
1. Preheat Your Cannabis
Take your ground-up weed, wrap it in parchment, and cover the parchment in foil to create an airtight seal. Bake the wrapped cannabis in an oven set to 245 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. By the 25-minute mark, about 70% of the THCA will be THC.
When the time is up, remove the foil-wrapped weed from the oven, and let it cool to room temperature. Set it aside while you prepare your butter.
2. Start the Infusion Process
In your saucepan, add the butter and heat it until it is completely melted. Add the decarbed cannabis and water to the butter, and let the concoction simmer on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Insert the candy thermometer into the mixture to ensure it doesn’t exceed 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cooking the cannabis for longer will infuse more THC into the butter. However, it will also disperse more chlorophyll and bitterness in your cannabutter.
3. Strain Your Infused Butter
After simmering the butter for an hour, take it off the heat. Put the fine mesh strainer over the food-safe container. Pour the butter into the mesh to strain the mixture. You could use cheesecloth for a purer strain, but the material could soak up precious cannabutter, leaving you with less product.
Cover the butter and let it set up inside your refrigerator. The oil and water will separate as the mixture cools, but you can pour out the water when the butter solidifies.
4. Add the Cannabutter to Your Favorite Recipe
Cannabutter will last about two weeks if you keep it in an airtight container in your refrigerator, so cook with it quickly. You add a small amount of cannabutter to recipes in addition to other fats and oils for a mild high or substitute cannabutter entirely for regular butter.
Get Quality Weed for Cannabutter from Cannabis & Glass
Whether you want to add cannabutter to your favorite brownie recipe or create a new dish, you can rely on Cannabis & Glass to have the premium weed you’ll need. With locations in Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Liberty Lake, WA, our recreational dispensaries are the largest in Eastern Washington. If you prefer not to make cannabutter to produce your own edibles, we have a wide selection of ready-to-consume cannabis treats.
Stop by one of local dispensaries today and explore our goods, or view our menus online!
