Cannabutter edible recipes

Cooking with Cannabutter

Cooking and Baking foods, weed brownies, cannabis cookies, making candy with marijuana, and weed drinks with thc or CBD in them require the use of Edible Marijuana Recipes which are necessary to have so you know how much of each ingredient is required in order to get high or stoned from eating them. Knowing how to make weed butter or cannabutter is one of the first steps you need to know. Marijuana Butter aka cannabutter is butter that has been melted and mixed with extracted thc glands from cannabis plant trimmings or from marijuana buds. Make sure to understand the different effects of inhaled and ingested cannabis.

Marijuana is oil-based, so knowing this is very important when it comes to cooking with cannabis. THC is the pyschoactive property in Marijuana and is contained in the capitate glands that cover its leaves, but the flowers / marijuana buds contain the most THC. When cooking or baking with marijuana, you should always use an oil-based product, such as butter or vegetable oil, as these do a great job at dissolving the capitate glands and releasing the THC. There are a few basic ways of using the cannabis plant for cooking: one is to make butter aka cannabutter and the other is to make flour. Another way is to make Marijuana Alcohol, which you can learn about in our marijuana beverages section. Either way you choose to make your marijuana induced foods requires the use of either the cannabis plant leaves and clippings or using the finished marijuana buds, which is my preference as it is by far the most potent way of making Weed Butter (Cannabutter). You can cook with cannaoil in any recipe that calls for oil.

If you are interested in trying your hand at homemade cannabis edibles, you will first need to make cannabis-infused butter, also known as “cannabutter.” Cannabutter is one of the simplest and most common ingredients needed to make cannabis-infused edibles. While cannabutter may take some time to create, you can transform virtually any recipe into a cannabis edible with this essential ingredient. 

Disclaimer: MMTC’s Physicians do not endorse any particular route of administration.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of your choice of butter or ghee
• 1 cup (7-10 grams) of ground cannabis, decarboxylated OR 1 gram of cannabis concentrate, purchased at your local dispensary

Cannabutter Recipe

Cannabis concentrates: If you choose to use cannabis concentrate, you can skip the decarboxylation step, and begin at step three. 

Decarb the cannabis

Cannabis flowers contain a nonactive cannabinoid called THCA, which needs to be heated to become THC, hence why decarbing the cannabis is crucial in this recipe. 

Preheat your oven to 245 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay your cannabis buds on a non-stick, oven-safe tray. Insert the tray in the oven for 30-40 minutes, periodically turning the flower to ensure that they are heated evenly. 

Grind

Grind the decarboxylated cannabis coarsely with a hand grinder.

Melt the butter

Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of butter into a saucepan. Simmer on low heat and allow the butter to melt completely. 

Add the cannabis

Once the butter begins to melt, slowly add in the coarsely ground cannabis product or cannabis concentrate. Maintain low heat and let the mixture simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Strain the cannabutter

Set a funnel on top of a glass jar or storage container, and line it with cheesecloth. Once the butter has cooled off, pour it over the cheesecloth funnel and allow it to strain freely. Do not squeeze the cheesecloth, as this can force excess plant material into the jar. 

Refrigerate

Once your glass jar is full, seal it tightly and refrigerate. If you added water to your cannabutter during cooking, the water may separate during refrigeration. If this occurs, remove the solid butter with a knife and drain the water out. 

Many variables can affect the potency of homemade cannabutter. Be sure to sample your cannabutter before using it in a recipe. You can do this by trying a quarter of a teaspoon on a slice of toast and wait for the effects to begin. Observe how strong the effects feel and how long they last. This will give you a sense of your butter’s potency. 

Cannabutter can be used in place of regular butter or oil. Drizzle it over freshly cooked pasta, popcorn or use it when baking cakes or pastries.

How to make cannabis-infused butter (or ‘cannabutter’)

Butter is a delicious and versatile carrier for THC and other cannabinoids, although it isn’t the only one. You can also use coconut oil, olive oil, or any other fatty oil for your infusions. Just keep in mind, butter burns easily, so keep a close eye on your cannabutter as it cooks.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup (7-10 grams) of ground cannabis, decarboxylated

The essential (and often missed) first step: Decarboxylating the cannabis

Before making your cannabutter, you’ll need to decarboxylate, or “decarb”, the cannabis flower you’re working with. Skipping this step will result in a weak or inactive finished product. Here’s why: Cannabis buds produce a non-intoxicating acidic cannabinoid called THCA. When we smoke or vaporize cannabis, the heat converts THCA into THC, the molecule that delivers euphoric effects. If preparing CBD edibles, this same process should be applied.

Some recipes may instruct you to decarb cannabis in the hot butter directly, but the less time you spend soaking the buds, the better your infused butter is going to taste. For this reason, we recommend decarbing in the oven first.

Basic cannabutter recipe

1. Decarb the cannabis. Preheat your oven to 245ºF. Place cannabis buds on a non-stick, oven-safe tray. Cover the tray with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Insert the tray into the oven and set a timer for 30-40 minutes. Older, drier cannabis may require less time. (Tip: you can also set your oven to 300ºF and heat for 10 to 18 minutes, although low-and-slow is the recommended approach when decarbing to better preserve the cannabinoids.) Every 10 minutes, gently mix the buds with a light shake of the tray to expose the surface area of the buds equally.
2. Grind. Grind the decarboxylated cannabis coarsely with a hand grinder.
3. Melt the butter. Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of butter into a stock pot or saucepan. Simmer on low and let the butter melt. Adding water helps to regulate the temperature and prevents the butter from scorching.
4. Add the cannabis. As the butter begins to melt, add in your coarsely ground cannabis product.
5. Simmer. Maintain low heat (ideally above 160ºF but never exceeding 200ºF) and let the mixture simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should never come to a full boil.
6. Strain the cannabutter. Set a funnel on top of a jar and line it with cheesecloth. Once the butter has cooled off, pour it over the cheesecloth funnel and allow it to strain freely. (Tip: Squeezing the cheesecloth may push more bad-tasting plant material through).
7. Refrigerate the jar of butter. If excess water forms at the bottom of the jar, you can remove the solid butter with a knife and drain the water out. (The butter will need to refrigerate for about an hour before removing the water.)
8. Dose carefully. Refer to dosing information below before adding your butter to any snacks, dishes, or desserts.

Directions for slow cooker

1. Grind your cannabis coarsely with a hand grinder. (Tip: A coffee grinder will finely pulverize the flower and prevent effective straining of bad-tasting plant material.)
2. Set your slow cooker to low, or somewhere around 160ºF. (Tip: Avoid exceeding 200ºF to prevent burning or wasting cannabinoids. You can also add a little water to help prevent scorching.)
3. Add the butter and ground cannabis. Stir occasionally.
4. After about 3 hours, turn off the crockpot and wait for the butter to cool.
5. Strain as above.