Cannabutter for Beginers (AKA Another Cannabutter Thread)

[Dr. GreenBrain]

When I first started cooking I found it hard to find information on exact quantities of marijuana to use when making cannabutter. I also didn't have access to any trim. I had a lot of disappointments, but I finally found a really good recipe that works very well. In my opinion this is the best, most likely to succeed, way to make cannabutter, which can be used to replace regular butter in any recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter (salted or unsalted, MUST BE BUTTER)
1/8 of weed (you can use low grade and it will work just fine)
Water

Equipment:
1 large pot
1 small pot
Any heat source that will boil water

Method:
Prepare your marijuana by grinding it up. A weed grinder works fine, but to get it really powdery (like flour) use a food processor. Don't be afraid to use the stems. Fill the large pot half way or more with water. Now place the smaller pot inside of the larger pot filled with water. It should be supported comfortably by the water. Turn the burner on high, bring the water to a rapid boil, and place the butter into the empty smaller pot. Once it is all melted, add the weed powder and let it sit for 45min-1 hour. Check every so often to make sure that not too much water has evaporated from the larger pot (it may spill the contents of the smaller pot), and also stir the butter. Once it's finished, strain the butter through a cheese cloth or fine mesh strainer, making sure to squeeze out as much butter as possible. Discard the left over plant material. It is useless and should not be smoked.

Caution:
If you have never done edibles before there is a great chance that you will send yourself off into outer space, and not in a good way. DO NOT eat a large quantity of cannabutter.

Why this works:
THC delta 9 (the chemical compound most responsible for getting you high) can easily evaporate if it's exposed to high heat. You may have tried the method that tells you to boil the water with weed and butter in it, then solidify the butter in the fridge and separate it from the water (or the Crockpot method which is almost guaranteed to produce sub-standard results). This can lead to the evaporation of all of the THC if the heat isn't monitored closely. My method insures that the temperature of the butter stays just below the temperature of boiling water. This allows for the most effective way for the THC to bond to the fat with the least amount of evaporation.

Cheers, and happy baking!

 

[o K U S H o]

Hmmmm sounds not to bad. Does it stink up the house?

 

[blancolighter]

Sure does!

 

[Il Stugots]

do we turn the flame down for the 45-60 min or do we keep the water boiling?

 

[Alistair]

OK, I've a question. What is truly the optimum temperature for making canna butter? Personally, I melt the butter slowly in a sauce pan, add the weed and maintain a temperature of about 100F (38 C) for 3 hours. I also like to add the strongest liquor I can find (Bacardi 151 where I live). I don't know if the alcohol really helps or not, but I do it anyway.

Straining? I don't strain either. For me the pot is like flower, so I keep it. However, I don't make canna butter for the purpose of storing and using later. It goes directly into chocolate cookie dough.

That being the case, after my experience with TFG's firecrackers (see his thread) taking the time to make butter might be a waste of time if you're simply going to cook directly with it.

I've another question. It is often recommended to use 1 ounce pot per 16 ounces butter. I always use way more. This last time I used an ounce for 8 ounces of butter. The cookies get me rocked. When does the butter reach the saturation point? This might be difficult to answer, because different weed contains differing amounts of THC.

 

[smokingjoe]

Just sufficient to keep it simmering, does the trick.

If you can grind it finely enough, you can just mix it in the butter mix of a cake or brownie with the same results.

 

[Vegs]

There's more then one way to skin a cat as is the case with making cannabis butter or even mom's spaghetti sauce for that matter. =) Of course preferences and application come into play and some may not need to strain or infuse butter. Some may want to cut some fresh or cured bud or leaves and cook right away assuming they will apply heat to extract THC, CBD's or CBN's. However, I really like the idea of cooking with THC infused butter for cookies and other baked goods not to mention the health factor versus inhalation. Again, this is my preference. Heck, one day I may want to sauté some fresh garden veggies and use some chopped bud with some fresh herbs and pasta and extra virgin olive oil to kick-off a night of couch lock. To be followed by some sweet edibles.

With a strong culinary background I completely understand what message Dr. GreenBrain is passing along. If you want to make Cannabis Butter easy and almost full-proof use a double boiler method (pot within a pot of boiling water) to ensure you do not over-heat your butter. Straining is a personal preference and subjective to application.

I have not made cannabis butter.....yet, and have read a handful of ways to make it including this site and you can bet on it that I'll be making my medical butter using a double boiler method so I get all I can out of my smoke with little error. Who cares...I'm a cheap bastich. =)

 

[rickyjack9]

ebb n flow + two 400w hps + scrog in 4' x 4' = nugs. Sativa may take 3 mo to flower vs 2 mo for indica. But the sativa will be very strong. makes for some fine cannaoil or butter. I use walnut oil. Its not that expensive and heals veins said my dr. I was able to stop abusing my lungs after 44 yrs, instantly (ok, couple days) stopped cravings to smoke using the cannaoil method. I was a vapor devotee but even the 'cleaner' vapor caused me lung problems healthwise. I do understand why vapor people swear by it, but edibles are the future to prevent lung abuse.
simply adding weed to recipes are about 25 percent as strong as cannabutter or oil. i get cottonmouth on properly made cannaoil. But follow all the directions. It comes down to thc extraction. If u try it youll never mess with your lungs again i swear. But those who say the 'vapor' is pure and wont harm u are WRONG. it just takes longer to harm them. (lungs).