Weed butter is the key to making lots of different edibles. Edibles are many people’s favorite way to get stoned. They are commonly enjoyed by beginners and experienced stoners alike. Edibles are a favored by both recreational weed smokers and medicinal patients.
How to Make Weed Butter
The most common way to make edibles would be to make weed butter with cannabis and butter. You can use that make some sort of baked good like brownies or cookies. They pack a powerful punch and last a long time. That makes them great for hikes, going to the museum or just chill at home.
Weed butter is the concentrated psychoactive chemicals from weed extracted into butter, specifically, THC. The reason most people use butter is because THC is soluble in fat molecules. This means things with high fat content are very efficient in absorbing THC and are great to make into edibles.
Many people prefer to use a specific weed strain while making edibles, depending on the effect they want. Some may want to create an edible that has heavy body effects of an Indica, or an edible with the uplifting effects of some Sativas. While this is not necessary to consider, it can be good to know the typical effects of the strain you are working with while making edibles.
It is important to note that if you ask 100 stoners how to make weed butter you could easily get 100 different methods. However most methods will have these same 6 steps: Grind, Decarb, Mix, Heat, Separate, and Cool.
Step 1: Grind Weed
Start with ¼ ounce of cannabis material and grind in a cannabis grinder. There are many other options to consider like a blender or food processor, that can grind your cannabis into smaller particles than any standard grinder you would get at a pipe store. You want to make sure your weed material is ground as fine as possible for more efficient THC extraction. The more fine the weed is ground up, the more surface area you create that is exposed to the butter or other fatty medium. This allows for the most efficient uptake of THC and other cannabinoids.
Step 2: Decarboxylate the Weed
Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that happens to weed when it is exposed to heat, making it easier to absorb to fat molecules. For your edible to work properly, the cannabinoids need to become activated through this process.
This process happens naturally when smoking cannabis. When lit on fire, the combustion of the cannabis flower material transforms the THCa into activated THC, allowing its effects to be felt immediately.
To decarb your weed you will want to place your finely ground weed on a baking sheet. Put that in the oven at a low temperature (220-270) for anywhere between 7-30 minutes depending on temperature. The hotter your decarb temperature, the shorter you should heat the cannabis material.
There are many variations on this process, and exposure to different temps for different durations can release different cannabinoids.
Step 3: Melt Butter and Mix
Heat your butter over low heat until melted, so that you can easily mix your weed into the butter. You will take your decarboxylated cannabis material and mix it with the butter. In this picture we created a double boiler using a standard pot filled with boiling water and a mixing bowl on top. Make sure your cannabis material is evenly mixed into the melted butter.
Step 4: Heat
There are many different methods at this step of the process. Many will choose to use a double boiler on a stove. You can also use a slow cooker, water, and a thick sealed glass jar to contain the weed and the butter. While others will choose to use a sous-vide machine, or a crock pot, which allow for greater temperature control ensuring you do not overheat the butter. These methods keep the cannabis mixture off direct heat, which helps to prevent burning off valuable THC.
Mix your weed butter mixture frequently so that it cooks evenly. Keep heating your cannabis butter mixture for anywhere from 1-2 hours. The amount of time varies greatly from person to person and depending on the heating method you choose. The weed butter mixture will be a very dark green and quite pungent.
Step 5: Separate
After you are done heating your butter separate your weed material from the liquid butter using a cheese cloth or fine strainer. Carefully pour your butter weed mixture over your separator into a mold or vessel that will be easy to work with. There are other options that will work like a Chinois or even hosiery.
You can discard the leftover cannabis material when you have finished separating it from the butter.
Step 6: Cool the Weed Butter
Let the finished cannabis butter cool until it is solid, or solid enough to work with for the edible you are making. You can pour into a dish, or an empty margarine container. This butter is ready to eat on anything from toast to brownies and cookies. Enjoy!
Know Your Edible Dosage
It is important to know the dosage that works for you when it comes to edibles. It is recommended that if you are new to cannabis you start low with something that has 2-5mg THC. Most regular edible consumers prefer something between 10-25mg, with some experience stoners preferring something from 50-100mg.
It is possible to get too high from edibles. Getting locked into the couch and having some moderate anxiety is possible if you consume too much too quick. you should wait at least two hours after consuming edibles before deciding to eat more. Consuming alcohol with edibles can also be dangerous as the effects can exacerbate one another making you both drunker and higher.
For making weed butter, people have vastly different preferences. Some prefer to use as little as 1/8th of an ounce per stick of butter, while others will use up to a half ounce per stick. However, most people tend to land right in the middle using ¼ ounce of cannabis per stick of butter.
Where to find Edibles?
It can be difficult to find the right Edible when you want it. Most stoners are subject to whatever is available at the dispensary when you walk in. This can often lead to limited options and an unhappy customer experience.
Find the edible you want, when you want it, at the best price. Thousands of dispensary menus available anytime. Whether you are looking for an edible or a specific strain, find it all on CannMenus.