Seven Steps to Cannabis Butter
By Laurie Wolf
Follow the directions and you will make the best butter your cannabis will allow. The truth is the cannabis butter (also known as cannabutter) is only as good as the ingredients you make it with. Bare in mind that the stronger the weed, the stronger the butter, so plan accordingly. The butter will keep in the fridge up to a month and freeze beautifully for at least 6 months. It is made from the flower from the good folks at Phresh Cannabis, using their strain Prodigium, a sativa dominant delight.
What You’ll Need for Your Cannabis Butter
4 sticks butter
1 ounce cannabis flower or shake, ground and decarboxylated*
Step 1
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. You can vary the amounts, just be sure that the marijuana is always floating 2 inches from the bottom of the pan.
Step 2
Add the butter. After the butter has melted, add the marijuana. Once the cannabis is added, the heat should be turned down, very low, to barely a simmer. Cook for three hours.
Step 3
Set up a bowl to hold the finished product. There are a couple of ways to strain the mixture. Use a deep heatproof glass bowl with a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. You can also tie a double layer of cheesecloth around a large heatproof bowl with twine, making it taut across the top. Strain the marijuana butter over the bowl, carefully trying not to spill.
Step 4
When the saucepan is empty carefully undo the twine, pick up the cheesecloth from all four sides and squeeze out all of the remaining butter.
Step 5
Allow the cannabis butter to cool at room temperature for about an hour. Place in the fridge until the butter has solidified and separated from the water. The THC and other properties have attached to the butter, and you are just about there.
Step 6
Run a knife around the edge and lift the butter off the water.
Step 7
Place upside down on your work surface and scrape off any of the plant matter and milk solids. Your cannabis butter is ready to use. Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container.
*Be sure to decarb the cannabis before making the butter. That means that you need to bake the cannabis on a cookie sheet, in a single layer, for 40 minutes at 240°. This recipe uses 4 sticks of butter to every ounce of marijuana, so if you’re using a half ounce, that’s about 2 sticks of butter.
