How to Make Cannabutter at Home?

If you want to enjoy cannabis in a new way, the go-to choice is to cook up some edibles. But to make edibles, you first need to make cannabutter — an essential ingredient in making cannabis edibles. 

With the right homemade cannabutter, the possibilities are endless — you can add it to practically any recipe that calls for butter or oil! And it is relatively straightforward to make, too. So, how do you make cannabutter at home? Read our article on making cannabutter at home.

How to Make Cannabutter: The Recipe

The cannabutter recipe begins with first gathering the supplies. Here are the things you need to make cannabutter at home:

• Cannabis buds (7 to 10 grams)
• 1 cup unsalted butter*
• 1 cup water*
• Oven
• Baking sheet
• Saucepan
• Mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or coffee filter
• Cannabis grinder 
• Sealable mason jar

*One cup of unsalted butter equals around 227 grams and one cup of water is equal to around 236 ml.

We’ll be using a cannabis-to-butter ratio of 1:1, so you can adjust the measurements to your liking, but if you don’t know where to start, it is a good idea to start with one cup of each.

Now, here’s the cannabutter recipe.

Step 1. Decarb the Cannabis

Decarbing is an essential step — not an option — because even if you have got the best cannabis to make edibles, you won’t get high if it isn't decarbed. Cannabis contains THCA in its natural form, which turns into THC when heated. THCA is non-psychoactive, but THC is.

So, to decarb your cannabis, follow these steps:

1. Grind the cannabis buds coarsely using a grinder
2. Next, preheat the oven to 230°F - 245°F (110°C - 118°C) 
3. Spread the ground-up cannabis on a baking sheet 
4. Bake cannabis for half an hour and stir it every few minutes to ensure even distribution of heat

While decarbing, do not exceed the recommended temperature and duration as it can negatively affect the cannabinoids and even break them down.

Step 2. Add the Cannabis to the Butter

Now, you need to mix decarbed cannabis with butter. For this, first, melt 1 cup of butter and mix it with 1 cup of water — this helps the butter heat more evenly. Don’t worry, the water will evaporate or can be removed at the end of the process.

Next, set your stove to low heat and cook butter at 150°F or 65°C — a cooking thermometer comes in handy in this step. Once the butter is ready, add your decarbed cannabis and mix it well.

Cover the pot with a lid so that the mixture heats up properly, ensuring efficient slow extraction of the cannabinoids. And let the butter and cannabis mixture simmer for at least three hours. You can let it simmer for a few more hours if you want your cannabutter to be more potent; however, don't forget to add more water.

Step 3. Strain the Butter

Once the butter and cannabis mixture is cooked for three hours, it’s time to strain it. Place a cheesecloth or coffee filter on the mason jar and use rubber bands to secure it properly, otherwise, it may fall off.

Then, pour the butter cannabis mixture slowly onto the cheesecloth and let the liquid drain. In the end, your container will be full of thick liquid with the cannabis residue remaining on the cheesecloth. 

Step 4. Cool the Concoction 

Discard the residue or use it as compost and let the container cool for half an hour. Once it reaches room temperature, transfer it to a fridge and let it solidify. After a few hours, the container will contain thick butter and a layer of water — discard the water carefully. 

Congrats! Your homemade cannabutter is ready!

How to Store Cannabutter?

Storing cannabutter is easy. Add your cannabutter to an air-tight mason jar with a sealable lid, ideally made of dark or opaque glass since light can degrade cannabinoids over time. And place the jar in your fridge; it should last for around a month. You can also freeze it if you want it to last even longer, up to 6 months. 

However, check your cannabutter before each use. If it smells rancid or weird, it has gone bad, and you should toss it. 

How to Use Cannabutter?

Now that you have your cannabutter ready, you must be wondering where and how to use it. You're in luck. Cannabutter can be used in almost all recipes that ask for butter and oil. 

Usually, most people who DIY cannabutter at home resort to making classic brownies, but don’t limit yourself. There is no limit to the kinds of foods you can add cannabutter into. Here are some of the dishes you can add cannabutter to:

1. Cannabutter peanut butter balls
2. Cannabis cookies
3. Cannabutter fudge
4. Cannabutter cheesecake
5. Cannabis lemon pound cake
6. Baked chicken with cannabutter
7. Cannabis-infused pasta 
8. Banana bread
9. Pancakes
10. Mac and cheese
11. Popcorn

Just remember that cannabutter smells distinctly of cannabis, so it may not always work with some recipes. And that’s okay. Experimenting is the name of the game and lets us know what new innovative dishes you make with your homemade cannabutter.

How to Make the Best Cannabutter of High-Quality?

Knowing the recipe is one thing but executing it well is another. You need to take some measures to ensure that your cannabutter comes out just as good as you expect (or even better). There are three factors that come into play for this, such as:

1. Use High-Quality Cannabis Buds

If your cannabis buds are of low quality, your cannabutter will be low quality, too. So, pick the right kind of cannabis buds, depending on your preferences, and ensure it is of high quality. 

You can also check the THCA percentage of it on the packaging to know what potency to expect from your cannabis. Or, grow cannabis with high THC at home. Avoid cannabis buds with less than 10% THCA content, unless you want to make CBD cannabutter at home.

2. Use High-Quality Butter

In the same vein, use butter that is of high quality, whether it is salted or unsalted. Butter that contains fat is the best choice, but even some vegan kinds of butter can work wonders as long as they contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — they are essential for an effective infusion of cannabis.

3. Grind the Cannabis Well

The third aspect is to grind the cannabis buds properly before decarbing. Avoid grinding it after decarbing as it gets toasty in the oven and may damage your grinder. Plus, it’s just easier to grind it before decarbing.

When grinding it, aim for a coarse consistency that is not too powdery or too thick. 

How to Dose Cannabutter?

When you make cannabutter at home, you don’t really have the luxury to lab test it for its potency. That would be expensive and time-consuming. So, it can be a little hard to guess its potency and dose it since each batch varies even if you use the same recipe.

But you can still get a rough idea of it.

The first step is to know how much THCA (in percentage) your cannabis buds have. Usually, this is listed on the products themselves and tested by third-party labs. Now, you can use the THCA content to calculate the THC amount in cannabis. 

Use this formula:

Cannabis (in grams) x 1000 (conversion rate of grams to mg) x percentage of THCA in the decimal form x 0.88 (conversation rate of THCA to THC) x 0.7 (percentage of THC remaining after infusion)

The answer is the amount of THC you can expect in your cannabutter. 

Remember, this formula will only give you a rough estimate. So, it is crucial that you be mindful of your dosage as cannabutter when made correctly can be a lot more potent than you think.

If you have never consumed edibles before, you should start with a small dose of 5 mg to gauge how your body reacts to them. Then, you can build your way up to 10 mg slowly. 10 mg is ideal for most consumers as it gives a relaxing, euphoric high, and you can always build up to higher doses as your body gets accustomed to it.

Also, do not expect a high within 10 minutes of smoking. Cannabis when consumed via edibles takes up to two hours to start showing effects and the high can last for several hours. If you don’t feel high after eating it, do not consume more to hasten the process. It can lead to getting too high and even a bad trip.

Summary: How to Make Cannabutter at Home?

Cannabutter is a terrific ingredient that can add flavor and experience to any dish that uses butter if you know what we mean. So, try making cannabutter at home. This cannabutter recipe is easy and anyone with basic kitchen experience can prepare it.

What comes after you make cannabutter is entirely up to you. From brownies to pancakes and sandwiches to pasta, the options are virtually endless.

Just remember to dose your cannabutter properly and start with a smaller dose and build your way up.

Happy cannabis cooking!