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Our Cannabutter is used to enhance many of our favorite recipes cooked up in the fumé Brands test kitchen. If you’re of the vegan persuasion, you can substitute coconut oil for butter. Here’s how we make it along with extraction tips. Keep in mind that this is not an exact science so we recommend you experiment. Start by erring on the side of caution and remember that when it comes to THC-infused delights, you can always have more but you can’t have less!
Equipment:
- Small Ziplock freezer bag
- A small object like a piece of silverware or a stone to weigh down the Ziplock to keep it submerged in the water bath
- Clips to attach ziplock to the side of the water bath
- Instapot, crockpot or medium size pan to use as a water bath
- Small mason jar with lid
- Cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve
Ingredients:
- 2 grams (g) mid-grade flower (at 15% potency)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (or 16 TBSP unrefined, virgin Coconut Oil)
Makes: 13-14 TBSP Cannabutter, 44.6 mg/TBSP or 14.87 mg/TSP
Directions:
Step 1: Weigh your flower
Weighing the dry flower vs measuring it with standard baking tools ensures greater accuracy and consistency in your results.
We used 2 g for our recipe with 17.8% available THC for extraction. If you do not have access to lab results, you can estimate 15% THC or 150 mg THC per gram of flower.
Most experts agree that even in ideal conditions only 60% of the available THC is extracted in a process like the one we’re using in this recipe. We recommend you do an initial test batch assuming extraction at 100% active and then adjust the potency to suit your preferences.
Step 2: Grind your flower
Using a spice grinder, pulse flower a few times to break it up. Do not make it into a powder—it should be roughly the size you’d use for a joint. Place in a small mason or ball jar.
Step 3. Decarboxylate your flower in a water bath
Heat a water bath to 200° (note, water boils at 212º so this is just below boiling).
Place ground flower in a small freezer Ziplock bag including a small weighted object, like a piece of silverware or a rock, to keep the bag immersed under the water. Press as much air out as you can and seal. Attach the freezer bag to the side of the pot with clips and sous vide for 90-minutes.
Optimal home decarboxylation is not an exact science. There are many conflicting time/temperature recommendations out there promising optimal decarboxylation. These worked for us but your mileage—and preferences-may vary. We recommend you approach the process with curiosity and a willingness to experiment to achieve optimal results.
Step 3. Infuse the butter or coconut oil
After 90-minutes, place decarboxylated cannabis in a mason jar with 16 TBSP (2 sticks) of melted unsalted butter or unrefined, virgin coconut oil. Reduce the temperature on your water bath to 190°. Loosely screw on the lid of the mason jar. (Allow for a little pressure release). The water level should be even with that of the butter in the jar and the jar should remain upright in the bath.
Heat butter (or oil) + cannabis for 50-minutes. This is your infusion step.
Periodically swirl contents around.
Let cool for approximately 10-minutes so you don’t burn your fingers. Strain the infused butter (or oil) through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth or a combination of the two to minimize loss. You can squeeze the cheesecloth to maximize extraction.
Store in the fridge.
Dosing Math (if you’re curious!)
- 4 g of 17.84% active flower translates into 713.6 mg total active THC assuming 100% extraction which we recommend at least for your first batch (The math: 4 g x 178.4 mg/g x 100% = 713.6 mg). In reality, you’ll likely be getting only 60% of the total active THC during the extraction process (The math: 4 g x 178.4 mg/g x 60% =428.16 mg) but we believe it’s safer to assume full active extraction and then adjust as you gain more experience.
- 16 TBSP butter is 226.88 g (1 TBSP = 14.18 g) which translates into 3.145275035 mg THC per gram of butter (a number which totally looks like the value of pi, no?!)
- 44.6 mg per tablespoon (The math: 713.6/16 TBSP = 44.6 mg/TBSP) or 14.8666667 mg/TSP
Keep in mind that there will be loss when you strain the butter and remove the flower. The yield of this recipe will be closer to 13-14 TBSP cannabutter.