Are cannabis edibles a new thing for you? Have you been looking at a lot of delicious cookie and brownie recipes and wondered if you could incorporate some weed in them? The truth is, you can. By incorporating cannabis-infused butter in your favorite recipe, you can make your favorite THC-infused brownies and any other type of sweets.
As we all know, the main cannabinoids found in weed are THC and CBD, with the former giving weed its psychoactive effects, while the latter is responsible for weed’s calming effects. But weed in its natural form isn’t psychoactive, because it has to undergo the decarboxylation process first. Decarboxylating converts the Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA) into THC, and Cannabidiolic Acid (CBDA) into CBD, in that way activating the compounds in cannabis so they produce their effects.
Even though you could buy your cannabutter at a local cannabis dispensary (if available), you could also make it in the comfort of your own home, which can even turn out to be a budget-friendly option. This easy method combines your decarbed cannabis flowers and infuses them with the butter, without burning the plant materials in the process.
We have previously dived into the process of making cannabutter on the stovetop on our blog, so now we’ll focus on making it in a mason jar.
What You Need to Do Before Making Cannabutter Using the Mason Jar Method
The Cannabis Flower
During prep time, the first thing you’ll need when diving into the homemade cannabis butter is a quality cannabis flower. This is important because of two reasons. Firstly, you need to choose the appropriate Indica, Sativa, or hybrid strain that you prefer, but it also needs to have the suitable mg of THC in it according to your needs. Secondly, the terpene flavor is very important since it gives the butter its aroma. You might want to choose strains with woody, earthy notes when making cannabutter to use in savory recipes, and more citrus-flavored terpenes, like limonene, for sweet edibles.
The next thing you’ll need to do if you haven’t done it before is to decarb the cannabis in order to release the powerful cannabinoid – THC. In order to decarboxylate the weed, you need to heat the weed at an appropriate temperature, and you can find more information about decarbing here. Generally weed decarbs at a temperature of about 235 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius).
The Butter
Apart from the marijuana, the star of this recipe is the butter (if you are going for the vegan option use olive oil or coconut oil), and you’d like to pick a high-quality butter. The better the quality of your butter, the better your cannabis-infused butter will be, and in the end you’ll get better-quality cookies and bakes. When infusing your butter, you might want to opt for unsalted butter, with the purpose of using it for both sweet and savory recipes.
Also, it would be a good option to make your cannabis butter using clarified butter, or make your own clarified butter. We recommend doing this since the process of clarification removes the protein from the butter. The foam that gathers at the top when clarifying the butter is the protein which you can take out using a spoon. This is an important step since clarified butter is mostly fat, and we all know how weed likes to bind with the lipids found in oil or butter.
How to Make Cannabis Butter Using the Sous Vide Method (Cannabutter Recipe)?
Things Needed
Cook time: 4 hours
- 28 g decarboxylated whole cannabis flower;
- 500 g liquid clarified butter;
- 2 tbsp sunflower lecithin;
- Mason jar;
- Immersion circulator;
- Deep pot;
- Instant read thermometer;
- Strainer and cheesecloth;
- Containers.
Here we decided to use the sous vide method which helps to control the temperature precisely and keep the butter from burning, but you could also use the water bath (double boiler) method, and even the slow cooker (crockpot) method, depending on your preference. Keep in mind that if you’re using kief, it also needs to pass the decarboxylation process before you add it to the butter.
The Recipe
With the decarboxylation process done, you can move on to the step-by-step recipe and make your ultimate cannabis infusion.
To make your weed butter, first put the decarbed weed inside the mason jar, pour the melted butter on top of the weed, and finally add the lid. In a pot filled with hot water, start the immersion circulator at 160 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius), put the jar in, and let the butter infuse for 4 hours.
Occasionally check the temperature to see if it’s around 160 degrees. You might also want to burp your jar at some point to allow the built-up pressure to escape.
After a few hours, take the jar out of the immersion circulator and strain the plant matter from the infused butter (or infused oil if you went the vegan way) using a cheesecloth on top of a strainer.
Put a container under the strain so the liquid butter will be collected below. The first run of butter will be the better tasting one and you should reserve it for using it in sauces and as a spread on its own.
Place another container under the strain and gently press on the leftover plant matter that’s left in the cheesecloth. The butter that comes out this time will be darker and its flavor will be more potent. Reserve this butter to use in baking and cheeses where you could mask the “weedy scent” with chocolate or a lot of spices.
Storing and Using Your Cannabutter
After you have your final product, you need to leave it to cool off at room temperature for about an hour and then transfer it in the fridge or the freezer. If you put the butter in the freezer, it will increase its shelf life for up to 3-4 months. On the other hand, if you keep it in the fridge, it will last you for a couple of weeks.
Your finished cannabis-infused butter (or cannabis oil for a vegan option) can be used in a wide array of homemade edibles. Cooking with cannabis is fairly easy, and you can make delicious cannabis edibles, soups, curries, as well as your preferred chocolate chip cookies. Simply swap your regular butter for your cannabutter in your recipe.
The most important thing to keep in mind is how potent you make your cannabutter. At first, you should try with a lower dose of cannabis, since cannabis edibles take a longer time to kick in compared to smoking weed.
Cannabutter 411
Making your homemade cannabis butter can be fairly simple if you have the time and will to make it on your own. All you’ll need is your favorite strain of decarbed cannabis, butter, and a few other kitchen appliances.
With the sous vide method you can have professionally made infused butter from the comfort of your own home to use in savory and sweet recipes which will take your cooking game to the next level.
And if you don’t want to make it from scratch, you can definitely find it premade at a local dispensary in your town, if cannabis dispensaries are legal where you live.
