Edibles have become one of the most popular methods for consuming the world’s favourite recreational drug – cannabis. While many people have been making their own cannabis recipes for decades and perhaps even millennia, the gradual easing of cannabis prohibition has opened up many markets to the commercial distribution of cannabis-infused sweets and treats. From gummies and chocolate to sparkling drinks and even beer! Countless edible products can now be found online and in shops all around the world. But if you want to make your own cannabis-infused edibles, there is no better place to start than learning how to make “cannabutter”.
The rising popularity of edibles
It’s true that smoking and vaporising remain the top administration methods for both recreational and medicinal consumers of the cannabis plant. However, edibles offer a completely different experience that, many agree, is fun for a change. Edibles also offer an option for people who don’t like the idea of smoking, whether due to health reasons or simply personal preference. If you’re new to cannabis, edibles are a great option for you, too – although you should definitely be sure to start with a low dose! THC-infused edibles are known for having longer and stronger psychoactive effects.
In the UK and the majority of Europe, high-THC cannabis remains illegal, with the exception of legally prescribed medicinal products. But that doesn’t mean that edibles are completely unavailable. CBD-infused products make up the bulk of the edible market in Europe with all of the aforementioned products available online and in stores across the UK, and THC edibles can be found if you know who to ask. If you don’t, it’s easy to make your own.
DIY edibles with cannabutter
Making your own cannabis-infused edibles can be done in any number of ways, whether you plan to cook with CBD or hemp oils or take a more full-spectrum approach. However, one of the most versatile ways to infuse your food with cannabis is with cannabis infused butter – commonly known as cannabutter or weed butter.
Butter is the perfect vehicle for incorporating cannabis into your favourite foods. From sweet treats to savoury dishes, there are few products that offer as much versatility as butter. It can be used to make cakes, biscuits, pastry, sauces – you name it, you can probably put butter in it. So, in theory, once you have mastered the art of making cannabutter, you can begin delighting your tastebuds with almost every kind of cannabis edible you can think of. Butter is also high in fat – which is required for THC to bind to! So, how exactly is cannabutter made?
Making your own cannabis-infused butter
As the name implies, cannabutter is simply butter infused with cannabis. If you are new to the cannabis edibles world – don’t worry; making your own cannabutter is pretty straightforward and you almost definitely already have everything you need:
Materials/equipment
- Flat oven tray or rimmed baking sheet
- Baking or parchment paper
- Oven
- Saucepan/frying pan
- Metal strainer/muslin cloth
- Grinder
- Container for storage
Ingredients
- 7-10 grams of decarboxylated cannabis flower (see below)
- 250 grams unsalted butter
- 250ml water
This ratio of cannabis to butter will result in a ‘standard dose’ strength weed butter. For a milder product, use less cannabis, to make more potent edibles with a higher THC dosage, add more!
In order to make an effective cannabutter, you will first need to decarboxylate your cannabis flower. This process involves heating cannabis flowers, using a stove or oven. This will effectively ‘activate’ your cannabis by converting THCA into THC. When you smoke cannabis, the burning of the plant triggers this decarboxylation, releasing a THC-rich smoke that is inhaled. However, you can activate your cannabis with much lower and less harsh temperatures – as is the case with vaporising.
To make cannabutter, decarboxylation can be achieved by breaking up your cannabis flowers and placing them on a lined baking tray in the oven at a low temperature (around 110-120°C). Leave your buds in the oven for around 30-40 minutes, making sure to check on them and give them a shake every 10-15 minutes. This slow approach will allow you to preserve as much of the plant’s natural terpene and cannabinoid profile as possible!
Once you have removed your decarbed cannabis from the oven, allow it to cool a little before using a grinder to grind it into a consistent texture. Be careful not to grind the product to a fine powder, as this may pass through your strainer into the finished product.
Next, you need to melt your butter in a saucepan or frying pan over a low heat. Add the water to help regulate the temperature and prevent your butter from burning. Alternatively, you can use a heatproof bowl over a saucepan containing a little boiling water to make a double boiler. Once your butter is completely melted, add your ground cannabis.
Continue to simmer the mixture on a low heat; be sure not to allow the temperature to exceed 90°C to maintain the integrity of the cannabinoids in your final product. You will need to keep a close eye on the mixture for the next 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally (ideally with a wooden spoon) and never allowing it to come to a boil. If you have a slow cooker, it may be possible to control the temperature using the settings to ensure the butter remains
After the simmering time is complete, it is time to strain your melted cannabutter. Place your strainer or muslin cloth over your storage container and pour your butter mixture through it. This will catch the large pieces of cannabis, leaving you with a clean, cannabis-infused butter: your cannabutter!
Finally, all that is left to do is refrigerate your strained butter in an airtight container such as a mason jar. This will allow it to return to the consistency of normal butter so that you can spread, fry, or bake to your heart’s content. This will take at least a couple of hours but it is best to leave it overnight, once refrigerated your cannabutter will have a shelf life of a few weeks in the fridge, in the freezer it should last for at least 6 months.
Not a fan of dairy? You can follow the above process but use coconut oil, olive oil or any other ingredient with a high saturated fat content!
Things to know about cannabis edibles
While cannabis edibles offer efficacy and versatility, this manner of consumption should be approached with caution – particularly when you have no means of testing the relative potency of your edible products and/or a low tolerance level. Making cannabutter is easy, but the potency of the final product can vary significantly from batch to batch.
This can depend on the strength of the cannabis strain used – which, when purchasing from illicit sources is far from an exact science. How long you heat your cannabis when infusing your butter, as well as the temperature applied, can also have an impact on the intensity of the end experience.
For this reason, it is always advisable to start low and go slow. Consider reducing the ratio of cannabis to butter for a milder effect or use less cannabutter in your cooking at first to ensure you are consuming a safe – and fun – amount.
Finally, edibles take significantly longer to kick in when compared to other methods – particularly smoking or vaporising. In fact, in contrast to smoking a joint, which yields results in just a matter of seconds, it can take up to an hour (and sometimes longer) until you begin to feel the effects of a weed brownie or other edible product. So, make sure to start with a small amount and wait for around an hour for the effects to kick in!
How to use your cannabutter
Now that you’ve infused your own weed butter, you might be wondering what to do next. As mentioned, cannabutter can be used in any recipe that calls for normal butter, which is why it’s such a versatile ingredient. In theory, you could just eat the butter and wait for the effects to kick in, however, most people will want to use their butter to make a sweet treat. Weed brownies are one of the most popular ways to make at-home edibles. Here is our go-to recipe which is great for beginners and gets great results every time. (Trust us, we’ve made plenty!)
Weed brownie recipe (UK measurements)
Ingredients
85g unsalted butter
100g cannabutter*
185g high-quality dark chocolate
85g plain flour
40g unsweetened cocoa powder
50g white chocolate chips
50g milk chocolate chips
3 large eggs
275g golden caster sugar
Method
STEP 1
Cut 85g unsalted butter and 100g cannabutter into small cubes and tip into a glass or heatproof bowl. Break 185g dark chocolate into small pieces and drop into the bowl.
STEP 2
Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put the saucepan and bowl on to the cooker over a low heat until both of the butters and the chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix.
STEP 3
Remove the bowl from the pan. Leave the melted mixture to cool to room temperature.
STEP 4
While you wait for the chocolate to cool, position a shelf in the middle of your oven and preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.
STEP 5
Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of kitchen foil (or non-stick baking paper) to line the base. Tip 85g plain flour and 40g cocoa powder into a sieve held over a medium bowl. Tap and shake the sieve so the flower and sugar pass through the sieve, removing all lumps.
STEP 6
Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer or whisk on maximum speed, mix the eggs and sugar. They will look thick and creamy, like a milkshake. This can take 3-8 minutes, depending on how powerful your mixer is. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture becomes pale and about double its original volume. Another check is to turn off the mixer, lift out the beaters and wiggle them from side to side. If the mixture that runs off the beaters leaves a trail on the surface of the mixture in the bowl for a second or two, you’re there.
STEP 7
Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Plunge the spatula in at one side, take it underneath and bring it up the opposite side and in again at the middle. Continue going under and over in a figure of eight, moving the bowl round after each folding so you can get at it from all sides, until the two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown. The idea is to marry them without knocking out the air, so be as gentle and slow as you like.
STEP 8
Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly.
STEP 9
Gently fold in this powder using the same figure of eight action as before. The mixture will look dry and dusty at first, and a bit unpromising, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end up looking gungy and fudgy. Stop just before you feel you should, as you don’t want to overdo this mixing.
STEP 10
Stir in most of the white and milk chocolate chips until they’re dotted throughout.
STEP 11
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and paddle the spatula from side to side across the top to level it. Gently sprinkle the remaining few chocolate chops onto the top of the mixture so they are just visible.
STEP 12
Put the tin into the oven and set a timer for 25 minutes. When the timer goes off, open the oven, pull the shelf out a bit and gently shake the tin. If the brownie wobbles in the middle, it’s not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes until the top has a shiny, papery crust and the sides are just beginning to come away from the tin. Take it out of the oven.
STEP 13
Leave the whole thing in the tin until completely cold, then, if you’re using the brownie tin, lift up the protruding rim slightly and slide the uncut brownie out on its base. If you’re using a normal tin, lift out the brownie with the foil (or parchment). Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into four squares and finally into triangles.
STEP 14
Your weed brownies will keep soft in an airtight container for at least two weeks and in the freezer for up to a month.
*You can adjust the strength of the brownies to your preference by increasing or decreasing the amount of cannabutter. Just remember if you take 20g of cannabutter away, add 20g of unsalted butter to keep the total amount of butter the same!
