How to Make Potent Cannabutter
At The Spot 420 we’ve got one of the best in Colorado edibles, stocking one of the most impressive edible selections in the state. And while we love all of the edibles we offer at our Pueblo, Colorado dispensaries and our Trinidad dispensary, we also realize people are curious about cooking with cannabis on their own.
That’s why we’re teaching you how to make potent cannabutter with an easy, five-step recipe. But before we dive in, it’s important to educate everyone on how to use, dose, and activate cannabutter. Without understanding how cannabutter works, you run the risk of making it incorrectly or accidentally dosing way more than you need.
How to Use Cannabutter
Cannabis-infused butter, lovingly known as cannabutter or 420 butter, isn’t as intimidating to make or use as you might think. Once you cook a batch, it’s as versatile as regular butter. Use 420 butter to make pasta or cookies, spread it on toast or use it to make a cake. The versatility of cannabutter makes it a cost-effective option for making your own cannabis-infused food at home.
How to Dose 420 Butter
This is a tricky question. The potency of cannabutter varies greatly from batch to batch; and even within one batch, some parts of the butter are more potent than others.
For these reasons, we do not suggest making your own edibles at home if you are still new to ingesting cannabis this way. Instead, rely on precisely dosed Colorado edibles that have a lab tested potency you can rely on to boost your tolerance. Once you’ve got a handle on professionally-made edibles, then try making your own 420 butter.
The potency of cannabutter will depend on the strain and amount used. As you’ll see in the recipe below, we suggest just two grams of cannabis for one cup of butter. Generally speaking, with a moderately high-THC strain (around 13% THC), this dose would render 16 one-tablespoon servings with 10 mg of THC each.
Overall, it’s best to take it slow with cannabutter and start with half of a serving spread on a piece of toast to test the potency. Increase from there based on the desired effects.
Why do you heat cannabis for 420 butter?
This is a question we get all the time. Why do you have to heat the cannabis flower to make cannabutter? The process of heating cannabis is called decarboxylation and it activates cannabinoids like THC. Without heating the ground cannabis flower first, cannabutter wouldn’t produce any effects.
Easy, 5-Step DIY 420 Butter Recipe
If you’re intimidated by the thought of making your own cannabis-infused butter, don’t be! All it takes is two ingredients, five steps, and a couple hours of cook time.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 2 grams of ground cannabis flower (Get the best Colorado weed strains, from the strongest indica strain to the buzziest sativa, at our Pueblo, Colorado dispensaries and Trinidad, Colorado dispensary.)
Easy Instructions for Cannabutter:
- Preheat the oven to 250℉. While it heats, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and evenly distribute the ground cannabis across the sheet. Let the ground cannabis decarboxylate in the oven for 30 minutes, gently shaking the tray every 5-10 minutes.
- Once the cannabis is done in the oven, begin to melt the butter. In a large pot, combine the butter with one cup of water over low heat. As the butter begins to melt, add in the decarboxylated cannabis to the mix. Let this mixture simmer on low heat for two hours, stirring often.
- While the butter cools a bit, secure cheesecloth on top of a glass container with a rubber band or tape. When the butter is cool enough to handle, gently pour it over the cheesecloth. When all the butter is poured, gently remove the tape or rubber band and gather all the corners of the cheesecloth. Squeeze gently to extract all the butter, but not the plant matter.
- Let the cannabutter cool in the fridge for an hour or until the butter rises to the top.
- Flip the container with the cooled 420 butter upside down onto a clean dish towel. Remove the layer of water and moisture from the top, leaving only your cannabutter left. Store the butter in the fridge in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes:
- You can substitute butter for coconut oil if you have dietary restrictions.
- If you want to get really fancy, you can infuse your butter with garlic, cinnamon, or another seasoning to bring its flavor to the next level.
- Squeezing the cheesecloth out too much can make the butter taste bitter.
- The better the cannabis buds, the better the butter. Make sure you start with a high-quality cannabis strain to make your butter worth it.
Want to try your hand at making cannabis edibles on your own? This easy 420 butter is the opposite of intimidating. Head over to The Spot 420’s Pueblo dispensaries or Trinidad dispensary to pick up the high-quality Colorado cannabis strain you need to get started.