Making cannabis edibles is a rite of passage for cannabis consumers, but it can be tricky. You need to find a way to heat up the weed, slowly and at a low temperature, because its psychoactive compounds need to be activated (decarboxylated). Do it too quickly or with too high of a temperature and the compounds will burn off. Today, we’ll be taking a look at how to turn flower into cannabis-infused butter through decarboxylation, which will allow you to turn most baking recipes into potent edibles.
Step One: Cannabis-Infused Butter (Cannabutter)
Cannabis, when grown, produces a cannabinoid called THCA – a precursor to the well-known and loved THC. When cannabis is heated, that THCA becomes THC. This process is simple when you’re smoking, but a little harder when you want just the oil of cannabis in your edibles as opposed to bits of literal flower.
It’s generally suggested that you decarboxylate your flower in the oven. Start by preheating your oven to 245 degrees Fahrenheit.
Break up your flower into smaller chunks if necessary (not grind!), and place it on parchment paper on a non-stick baking tray. Once your oven is heated, bake the flower for 30-40 minutes. If your flower is newer, lean towards 40 minutes. If it’s older and drier, closer to 30 minutes should do it. Every 10 minutes while baking, go ahead and gently move the flower around to ensure the pieces’ surface areas are heated evenly.
After time is up, remove the tray from the oven and allow the flower to cool. Then, grind the cannabis into fine particles using your standard hand grinder.
Step Two: Cannabis-Infused Butter (Cannabutter)
For this next portion, you’ll need 1 cup (or 2 sticks) of butter and 1 cup of ground cannabis, decarboxylated. One cup of cannabis is equal to approximately 7-10 grams. Have a saucepan, cheesecloth, funnel, and jar ready for use. A thermometer is a nice touch.
In a pot or saucepan, combine 1 cup of water and the butter. Slowly heat to a simmer. As the butter begins melting, add in the decarboxylated cannabis. Continue to simmer for 2-3 hours. If you happen to have a thermometer, shoot to keep the mixture at 160 degrees Fahrenheit, and never exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit or allow the mixture to boil. Stir occasionally throughout the 2-3 hours.
Prepare a jar for the butter by placing a funnel over it and then lining the funnel with cheesecloth. Allow the butter to cool, and then pour it slowly through the cheesecloth. The butter should flow freely through the cheesecloth funnel. It’s not recommended to squeeze the cheesecloth; it can force the not-so-good-tasting plant butter into your mixture. You don’t want that. Trust us.
Refrigerate the butter. It’ll probably take about an hour before it starts to resemble solid butter again. There’s a chance the water from before may collect at the bottom of the jar. If you want to get it out, remove the solid butter and allow the water to drain out.
(Pro tip: You don’t have to remove all of the butter with a knife if you simply poke a hole down to the gathered water. Use a chopstick, knife, or reusable straw, and then turn the jar upside down over the sink. Just make sure your butter is fully solid before this step…or your butter will go down the sink too.)
Step Three: Bake Edibles Using the Cannabutter
Now for the fun part: bake away. To calculate how much cannabutter you should use, remember that there’s approximately 1 cup of weed, which is equal to 7-10 grams, in one cup of butter. Top-shelf flower is usually around 20% THC, give or take 5-10%. After doing some math, you can measure the amount of THC in grams and decide how much butter will be needed in a recipe, accounting for the number of servings.
Skip the Wait; Get Edibles at Wheelhouse
One of the downsides to edibles made at home is that you can’t guarantee their potency, and certainly not their homogeneity, the latter of which refers to where in the batch the cannabinoids end up. (Imagine making 12 cookies and only three “work.”) Moreover, they take a lot of time and edibles can be harder to make if you’re less kitchen-savvy. If you’re looking for edibles made a little easier, just shop Wheelhouse’s edibles online or in-store. We have a treat to satisfy any craving!