Cannabutter is one of the most popular homemade edibles. It’s easy to make (if you have a cheesecloth), and it makes incredible infused buttery spread from any leaf – including trim and shake.
Cannabis trim is what is cut away from cannabis plants when flower is being separated and weighed for sale in dispensaries. Trim can include little bits of cannabis leaf (not flower), stem, and the crumbled flower that is lost when cannabis is manually processed and packaged. This trim is still as dense with cannabinoids and natural flavor as the perfectly shaped buds, but not as shelf-beautiful. Often, dispensaries will sell trim as “Baker’s shake” at half to even a fourth of the standard price. While it may not crumble into perfect pre-rolls, you can make some pretty incredible things with a simple canna-butter extraction.
We’re here to show you how to make great cannabutter at home using trim and high-quality packages of baker’s shake.
Preparing Your Kitchen for Cannabutter
The first step to any recipe is getting everything together. This recipe is super easy, but it requires you to have a cheesecloth.
Supplies
- Cheese Cloth
- Cookie Sheet
- Oven-safe parchment paper
- Saucepan
- Cooking Spoon
- Wire strainer (optional)
- Lidded Bowl
Ingredients
- 7-10 grams of cannabis flower or trim
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup butter
Be sure to grab real sticks of butter, not the buttery spread or margarine. The fake butter does not reform correctly in this delicious science project.
1) Pre-Bake (Decarboxylate) Your Cannabis
The first trick to making great cannabutter is to properly prepare your cannabis. That means decarboxylation. If you haven’t heard of this before, it means heating up your cannabis just enough to activate the cannabinoids (THC, CBD, ect). When you smoke or vape, the cannabinoids are activated instantly, but you always want to pre-activate cannabis for cooking any kind of edible.
- Set Your Oven to 245 F
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet
- Lay 7-10 grams of cannabis in a single layer over the cookie sheet, with some space between.
- Bre-bake your cannabis for 30-40 minutes
- Stir or mix your cannabis every ten minutes
When you’re done decarboxylating your cannabis trim, it’s time to grind it up fine. Don’t worry about getting a perfect cannabis powder, the goal is simply to make the pieces as small as possible. You can use a traditional grinder or a kitchen knife, whichever you prefer.
2) Simmer with Butter and Water
The next step is to simmer your cannabis and butter together with an equal measure of water. Fill a saucepan with one cup of butter and one cup of water. Melt the two together, then bring to a simmer and stir in your cannabis. Keep the pot at a low simmer, not a rolling boil, for about 2-3 hours as the cannabis infuses into the watered-down butter.
- Add 1 cup butter and 1 cup water to a saucepan
- Melt together and bring to a simmer
- Stir in cannabis and blend
- Low simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally
When three hours are done, turn off the stove.
3) Cool the Mixture
Remove the pan from the burner you just turned off and let the mixture cool. You will be handling your mixture directly next, so be sure it is fully or very close to fully cool before this stage is done. Give the cooling pan up to 30 minutes until the contents are safe to handle.
4) Strain It With a Cheesecloth
Now for the cheesecloth magic. The cheesecloth is, essentially, a very fine strainer. You’re going to use it to strain all of the oil out of your infused cannabutter and leave every little scrap of the plant material behind.
- Place a medium sized mesh strainer over the top of your bowl
- Line the strainer cup with the center of the cheesecloth
- Pour your cannabutter mixture through the cheesecloth and strainer into the bowl and let it drain.
- Lift the cheesecloth by the sides, spin it closed, and compress gently.
Once you’ve strained your cannabutter into the bowl, press the cheesecloth until it is mostly clear, but don’t squeeze out the last bit, or you’ll get some of the green stuff. If you don’t have a strainer, don’t worry. It’s just there to provide support.
5) Refrigerate and Pour-Off
Now, your cannabutter is almost ready. Close a lid over your bowl and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight. You will want to give your butter enough tme to reform into a solid, but now in bowl-shape and full of delicious cannabinoids, terpenes, and natural flavonoids from the low-impact way you infused your butter with activated cannabis trim.
This should leave you with delicious, creamy, and slightly fragrant cannabis-infused butter.
6) Spread or Bake
Do what you’re going to do with your cannabutter. Use it for baking, spread it on muffins, or even use it to make a savory dinner. The great thing about cannabutter is that it’s the DIY edible as versatile as butter itself.
Making Cannabutter from Trim is Deliciously Easy with Planet 13
The best thing about cannabutter is that you can make it easily from the most affordable yet high-quality and tasty cannabis: trim or baker’s shake. For a pleasant effect and complete control over the flavor and method of your cannabis habits, you can enjoy a very low-cost treat and a fun cooking science project every time you decide it’s time to bust out your homemade edibles recipes.
If you’re looking for great deals on cannabis trim to cook with and knowledgeable bud-tenders who can help you match your bud to your recipe like cannabis sommeliers, come to Medizin Dispensary and experience the hub of Las Vegas cannabis culture for yourself.
