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Cannabutter Recipe – 95% Odorless Process(r/trees)
I developed these processes by trial & error, combining and tweaking several recipes and methods over the course of a year. I am a MMJ user in a non-MMJ state and was weary of the roller coaster ride of smoking for relief. Using cannabutter allows for a more even level throughout the day and it is also more of a body load. Some of the following may be obvious but I want this to be easily understandable so even a beginner can do it.
This will produce approximately 1/2 pint of butter using 15 grams of cannabis. (a gram equals a standard metal paper clip or a bic pen cap, if you don’t have a scale), you don’t really need a scale, but I used one at first until I got the feel for it. All ratios and amounts can be changed to suit your personal tastes and needs.
The first thing you need to do is dry your cannabis and grind it fairly fine and then decarboxylate it. Decarbing is converting the THC-A in the plant into THC, which is what the body metabolizes.
the most effective way to ingest cannabis is to decarboxylate it at ~250°F for about a ½ hour in a lightly tightened mason jar (the herb should be dry and crumbly when done, if not … repeat in ½ hour increments). this allows the water vapor to escape, converting the THC-A to THC, but will allow the majority of the THC, CBD and terpenes to remain.
Just snugly because the air will expand as it heats. Once to temp it will seal any vapor inside with the bud and will condense out as it cools, both back onto the bud and the inside of the jar. Once cool remove the decarbed bud and then QWISO the jar and lid to collect any condensed there.
Just one cycle in the jar and there won’t be much condensed on the glass & lid, but if you use the same jar over several times without cleaning in-between, it will build up and you can reclaim a nice dollop of pseudo hash after the evaporating, post-QWISO.
if you don’t decarb, the following process will still work. It just won’t be as potent or effective. But if you retain the “dregs” and consume them in some fashion, you will claim most of the THC + the beneficial terpenes & flavinoids in the plant matter.
Cannabis Terpenes & Flavinoids^(PDF)
Ingredients:
Cannabis – Use mids or shake for a good addition for edibles, using headies or prime bud will get you into potent medible strengths.. Save your stems, they can be used too. Seeds are OK as well, though it’s more that I don’t care if seeds are in there or not, they’ll be strained out and they won’t hurt anything. They usually have a little THC coating them. The cannabis and stems should be ground as fine as you can get it, powder-like, and very, very dry. I let it dry for awhile before I grind it, it’s just easier to work in the grinder. Then I spread it out on a small tray of aluminum foil and set that on top of my cable box or TV for a few hours until it’s very dry. If you have decarbed as above, it’s ready to use. You can even just use the same jar you decarbed in.
Butter – I use unsalted, mainly because this process will cause it all to drop out anyways, just a personal preference. Branding doesn’t make any difference. If you look at the labels, you’ll see the fat content is usually the same all around, and further research has shown me that most all butter comes from only 2 or 3 processing plants, just put in different packaging.
I pre-process my butter into ghee, which is clarified butter taken a bit darker to give it a subtle nutty/roasted flavor.(if you make ghee, the residue is eminently edible and you don’t want it so salty). Again, personal preference. You can just use salted, un-ghee’d butter if you wish, especially if you’re going to just use it like regular butter for cooking/baking. … JUST GET THE HIGHEST FAT CONTENT AVAILABLE.
Water – …
Equipment:
Presto 06006 Kitchen Kettle Electric Multi-Cooker and Fryer – I like this because you can dial-in to just below a simmer. But of course, a standard slow cooker can be used as well.
Ball Deluxe Quilted Jelly Canning Jar 8 Oz. – These are also called “wide Mouth” or “canning/freezer” jars. They are a bit thicker and tapered a little inside, with no inside shoulder. I haven’t found anywhere that sells singles, but a dozen is usually less than $20. Or you could buy a couple of ’em full of tasty home made preserves at the farmers’ market. Or use the extras from the case for storage of bolts ‘n nuts ‘n greens.
Bodum Double-Wall Stainless Steel 0.45 Liter Travel Coffee and Tea Press – This is SO much better than cheesecloth or coffee filters. … period!
Hot Gloves – These will be self evident later.
You’ll find other things that will make it easier as you learn. I like to have a couple of, & a couple sizes of, those cupped silicone spatulas, a small tray to contain spills, because once that THC hits the butter, I consider it golden, and it gets eaten. (lemme tell’ya … eating my “mistakes” was much, much fun!). And you will spill, but now I just do it on the counter and rarely spill a drop. Paper towels, tongs for lifting hot jars and some small containers to pour the final product into. A “Canning Grip/Lifter” is also very helpful, but not absolutely necessary.
So, you’ve got the cannabis ready, ghee at room temp/liquid, jars and lids ready and water in the cooker at room temp. If using salted butter for cooking, pre-melt it in another pot and keep it liquid until you’re ready to pour it.
The Process:
Pour ~15 grams, dry-weight of the cannabis into the jar and slowly pour the butter on top while stirring, to about half way and let it sit for a few minutes to soak. Then fill it up to about 1/8 inch of the rim. You want a little air at the top.
Screw the cap & ring on and tighten snugly enough that your arthritic gramma could open it. Don’t crank down on it like a manly-man, you want the air to be able to escape as it heats, but it needs to force it’s way out so water doesn’t get in. Now put the jar in the room temp water, and add water so there’s a half inch or more water over it. You might need to put a weight on top, there are canning weights that work really well, or anything heavy enough to hold the jar down but is easily grippable. Put the cooker cover on top, turn the heat on and babysit it until it simmers. Then turn the T-Stat down so it “rumbles” every couple of minutes. You don’t want a constant simmer or you’ll be adding water every half hour.
Once an hour or so put the gloves on and remove the jar (use tongs or the canning lifter to get it out of the water. CAUTION!! Very Hot!! Gently shake & roll the jar to mix it up, then gently return it to the cooker, Add more water if necessary, room temp is OK, just add it slowly. Cover it and repeat in an hour or so.
I’ve done 24, 12 and 8 hour times and finally settled on 8. More just seems to leach out extra chlorophyl and unnecessary plant flavors. 8 is a happy balance for me. YMMV
Have your french press ready as well as the storage containers. Just have any&everything set out how you think it will be easiest for you to work quickly. Because quickly is how it goes for the next few minutes.
Turn off the heat, remove the jar and carefully open it. You will have to pop the lid carefully, as it cools a vacuum will form inside The ring will come off but the lid will be sealed to the jar. Wipe all the water off the outside, shake it once more, put the jar on your tray and carefully pop off the lid. STILL VERY HOT! With the press on the tray pour the mix into the press,scraping the sides with a spatula to get it all into the press. Insert the plunger and slowly push it down. Press it pretty hard and keep pressure on it as you pour it into the storage containers. If you’re making cooking butter it can go into the fridge ’til it sets. Use as you would regular butter.
Don’t throw out the squeezins! I put ’em in brownies occasionally, it’s ground fine enough you don’t notice any “grit”. But most often I’ll just pour some coffee or hot tea or hot cocoa in the press. Stir it up, let it steep for a while and re-press it then drink away. The THC laden, fatty butter floats to the top in the mostly water hot liquid. Don’t steep too long, and drink it in another cup or you’ll start noticing that stemmy/leafy taste. But the point is … DON’T DITCH THE DREGS TOO SOON!
At this strength, one pat (~1 Tablespoon), is about 1 joint. To get it super-silky-smooth, as soon as it’s in the containers … slap ’em in the freezer for a few hours, then keep cool enough to stay solid.
^^EDIT; please feel free to copypaste to anywhere. print it out and stick it on bulletin boards. repost it on reddit or any forum you choose. all without credit, or take the credit for yourself … i don’t care … i consider it open source.
ps; thanks to delevele for puttin’ a burr under my blanket.
Last edited on 4/1/12 to include decarbing and to correct various typos.