How to Make Highly Potent Cannabutter

Key Takeaways

• Trim and lower-grade buds can be turned into potent cannabutter.
• Decarboxylate first to activate cannabinoids.
• Dose carefully: estimate THC per portion and start low with edibles.

When harvest day is on the rise, a sense of excitement lies in the air. We invest a lot of time, money, and love, to guarantee ideal conditions for our precious plants. Let’s be honest, as soon as trichomes begin to change in colour, most of us get nervous and can’t wait to manicure, dry and cure. 

First step after harvesting is trimming. This can be a delightful thing to do. After countless hours of being highly concentrated on trimming like an artist, following question might arises:

What to do with the large amounts of trim and lower grade buds?

It’s only logical for us to use all the THC and other cannabinoids, provided by our plants. One way of using our trim is producing delicious and potent cannabutter. This blog will walk you through the step-by-step process of making butter, using the “long simmering method”. If you are really interested in producing a butter that is strong, delicious and perfectly natural, then look no further and try this recipe. Let’s cook!

Ingredients and Equipment

This long-simmer method is designed to extract a high concentration of cannabinoids while keeping degradation to a minimum. Low heat, patience, and proper water management are key.

Ingredients

• 28 g cured cannabis trim (preferably sugar leaves)
• 14 g cannabis flowers (potency of your choice)
• 250 g salted butter
• Tap water (around 300 ml to start, plus ~20 ml per hour)

Equipment

• Saucepan or double boiler
• Stove or hob
• Heat-resistant spoon or spatula
• Fine mesh strainer or sieve
• Heatproof container
• Glass storage jar
• Refrigerator

Optional: thermometer for temperature control

This recipe produces very potent cannabutter. If you’re new to edibles, consider using smaller amounts of cannabis and increasing strength gradually in future batches.

Stage 1: Preparation and Decarboxylation

Before extraction, your cannabis must be properly decarboxylated. This process activates cannabinoids by converting THCA and CBDA into THC and CBD.

Lightly grind or break apart the cured trim and flowers. Avoid over-grinding, as this can make straining more difficult later. Decarboxylate using a low-temperature method, then allow the material to cool fully before infusion.

Stage 2: Extraction

Add the butter to a saucepan or, ideally, a double boiler and gently heat it to approximately 95°C. Avoid browning or boiling the butter.

Once melted, add the decarboxylated cannabis and stir gently. Allow the mixture to simmer for at least 3 hours, or up to 12 hours for increased potency. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Every hour, add around 20 ml of water to replace evaporation. The water helps regulate temperature and protects cannabinoids from excessive heat. Keep the mixture at a gentle simmer, avoiding visible boiling.

Stage 3: Strain the Butter

Remove the pan from the heat while the mixture is still hot. Place a fine mesh strainer or sieve over a clean container and carefully pour the butter through.

Allow it to drain naturally, then gently press the plant material to release trapped butter. Avoid squeezing too firmly, as this releases chlorophyll, which can cause a bitter taste.

Transfer the strained butter to a clean container and refrigerate.

Stage 4: Separate Butter From Water

Once chilled, the butter will harden on top of the water due to density differences. Lift off the solid butter and discard the remaining water.

For easy portioning, press the butter into clean ice cube moulds. Clearly label with the date and estimated THC content. Store in the fridge or freezer. When kept cold and protected from light, cannabutter will last for several months.

How To Dose Cannabutter

Edibles can be very strong, and you’re committed for quite a long time once you're high. Therefore, it’s important to have a rough idea of how potent your edibles are going to be.

The calculation begins with the THC content of the cannabis product you're using to make the weed butter. If you’ve grown your own, you’ll likely know the maximum strength of your weed.

If it’s from a trusted seller and they know which strain it is, look it up and go with the maximum strength. If you have no idea, aim high and assume it’s 25% THC, just to be on the safe side.

It is also worth noting that we use both trim and bud in our recipe. However, determining the THC content of trim is very difficult. If you want to be precise, you may want to consider only using cannabis flowers. Or, you can simply use the math as a rough guide, and add all the trim you want!

Note, the math here assumes that your butter will absorb 100% of the THC in your weed, which it won't. But it will get most of it, so take this as a rough guide.

• The Math

For the purposes of this explanation, we’ll say the weed has a THC content of 20%. This means that 20% of the weed's weight is THC. So, per gram (1000mg), we have 200mg of THC. If you have 3 grams, you would have a total of 600mg of THC.

To calculate this for yourself, take the weight of your cannabis in mg, divide it by 100, then multiply it by the percentage of THC.

• Calculating the Strength of Your Cannabutter

The strength of an average cannabis edible is 10–15mg of THC for normal users, and 15–30mg of THC for seasoned users. Any more than this is usually for those with an extremely high THC tolerance (our recipe is very strong!).

With this in mind, the above formula works out how much THC is in your butter, allowing you to determine how many portions of butter you have. Or, going one level deeper, how many portions of edibles you have for the amount of butter used.

So, if you used 1g of 20% THC weed in our recipe, you would end up with 250g of butter with 200mg of THC in it. If you wanted to achieve an average strength of 10mg per portion, this would call for 20 portions, as you simply divide the total milligram content by the milligram content of one portion:

But you are unlikely to eat the butter as is, so let's take a look at edible dosing.

• Calculating the Strength of Your Cannabutter Edibles

Cannabis-infused brownies are a common edible made using cannabutter, so we will use it as an example.

Let's say you've made 250g of cannabutter with 200mg of THC in it. The brownie recipe wants you to use 100g of cannabutter. This means your brownie mix will have 80mg of THC in it—your 250g has 200mg of THC, so the 100g used in the recipe has ⅖ of this.

If you want 10mg portions, it means you need to divide your brownies into 8 portions. If you wanted 15mg portions, you would divide your brownies up into 5 portions.

- What To Do if Your Cannabutter Is Too Strong?

You may have noticed we didn't use 1g of 20% weed here at RQS. We used 14g plus trim! For the sake of this example, we will say we used 14g of 22% weed to make 250g of cannabutter:

If we're making brownies with 100g of butter and aiming for 10mg per portion, we would have 123 portions! A bit too many for such a small recipe!

Say we're only looking to make 10 portions for the people at the office. The simple fix is to work out how strong 1g of cannabutter is, use enough for 10 portions, and make up the rest of the 100g required with normal butter.

To work out 1g, take the THC content in milligrams and divide it by the weight of the butter in grams:

If our brownie recipe requires 100g of butter, and we want 10 portions, we could use 10g of our cannabutter and make up the remaining 90g with normal butter! each portion would then have roughly 12mg of THC—a moderate dose.

Here Are The Top 5 Strains To Use When Crafting Your Own Batch Of Cannabutter

WHITE WIDOW

White Widow is a celebrity of the cannabis world, and it has truly earned its distinction. This award-winning strain is thought to have originated as a sativa landrace from Brazil, which was then pollinated by an indica hybrid from South India. Regardless of its true origins, the first ever account of White Widow cultivated by man occurred in the Netherlands. White Widow is a superb strain to select when making cannabutter. A THC level of 19% and a fine balance between 50% indica genetics and 50% sativa mean that the high will be well-rounded, targeting the body and mind simultaneously. The head high is productive and motivating, whilst the body high is stoning and calming. White Widow is also renowned for her delicious notes of earth and pine, which will add serious flavour to your cannabutter.

White Widow provides good yields both indoors and outdoors, offering enough plant material for big batches of cannabutter. Indoor plants churn out 450–500g/m² and grow to heights of 100cm. Outdoor plants offer yields of 550–600g/plant and grow to heights of 190cm. White Widow has a flowering time of 8–9 weeks.

White Widow

White Widow

	White Widow S1
	450 - 500 gr/m2
	60 - 100 cm
	55 - 65 days
	THC: Up to 19%

	Sativa 50% Indica 50%
	550 - 600 gr/plant
	150 - 190 cm
	Early October
	Powerful , Stoned

Buy White Widow

BUBBLE KUSH

Bubble Kush is Royal Queen Seeds’ very own superstar Bubba Kush variant, and is the result of mixing OG Kush with the delicious and famous Bubble Gum. Bubble Kush is loaded with a variety of terpenes that produce intense flavours of earth, pine, and sweetness. This beauty is ideal for making cannabutter to add to sweet recipes such as brownies, cakes, and other desserts. The high induced by these edibles will be indica-dominant, inspiring euphoric feelings of mental and physical relaxation, along with munchies that will keep you close to the kitchen. A THC content of 19% ensures hard-hitting and long-lasting highs.

Bubble Kush produces good yields both indoors and out, making her ideal for those who want to make large quantities of cannabutter at one time. Indoor plants produce up to 600g/m² and grow to 140cm in height. Plants grown outdoors provide up to 650g/plant and reach tall heights of 200cm. Bubble Kush has a flowering period of 7–8 weeks.

Bubble Kush

Bubble Kush

	Bubble Gum x O.G. Kush
	550 - 600 gr/m2
	80 - 140 cm
	55 - 65 days
	THC: Up to 19%

	Sativa 20% Indica 80%
	600 - 650 gr/plant
	160 - 200 cm
	Late September
	Clear, Physically Relaxing, Stoned

Buy Bubble Kush

OG KUSH

OG Kush is undoubtedly one of the most well-known and appreciated cannabis strains, making appearances in blockbuster films and music productions. Her renown is well-deserved, as OG Kush is a true genetic masterpiece stemming from enigmatic parent strains Chemdawg, Lemon Thai, and Pakistani Kush. Loaded with flavours of citrus, pine, and fruit, OG Kush is a great fit for any recipe requiring cannabutter, offering boat-loads of flavour. The indica-dominant nature of this strain culminates in a relaxing high that will melt users through their couch and onto the floor. Eating an OG Kush edible in the evening will result in meditative and blissful states of mind.

OG Kush produces yields of up to 475g/m² and grows to heights of 160cm indoors. Preferring a mild climate outdoors, she’ll pump out harvests of 550g/plant and skyrocket to heights of 220cm. She has a short flowering time of between 7–9 weeks.

OG Kush

OG Kush

	Chemdawg x Lemon Thai x Pakistani Kush
	425 - 475 gr/m2
	90 - 160 cm
	50 - 60 days
	THC: Up to 19%

	Sativa 25% Indica 75%
	500 - 550 gr/plant
	180 - 220 cm
	October
	Calming, Uplifting

Buy OG Kush

SHERBET QUEEN

Sherbet Queen gets her enticing title from her undeniably delicious flowers. The terpene profile within these buds combines perfectly to create profound flavours of forest fruits that truly light up the taste buds. Her indica dominance ensures relaxing and therapeutic highs designed for the nighttime hours. Her rich tastes belong in rich recipes where cannabutter can enhance both the flavours and effects of the edible. Her strong THC content means this strain is best reserved for the experienced, as her potent high is only further augmented in edible form.

Sherbet Queen is a pleasure to grow, and is a hardy strain that requires little fuss from the grower. A high resistance to fungal infections makes her resilient to setbacks, and she thrives most in a warm climate outdoors. Sherbet Queen will be ready to harvest during the end of September or the beginning of October.

Sherbet Queen

Sherbet Queen

	Pink Panties x Sunset Sherbet
	450 - 525 gr/m2
	80 - 120 cm
	55 - 65 days
	THC: Up to 24%

	Sativa 15% Indica 85%
	450 - 500 gr/plant
	140 - 180 cm
	October
	Calming, Clear, Heavy, Sleepy

Buy Sherbet Queen

SOLOMATIC CBD

Solomatic CBD is a CBD-rich strain that is perfect for users seeking high levels of cannabidiol to infuse into cannabutter. This strain contains sky-high levels of CBD clocking in at around 21%, alongside minimal levels of THC at around 1%. The flowers of this strain will also deliver flavours of pine, ginger, sweetness, and fruits into the edible mix. Such high doses of CBD will support a clear, lucid, and confident mindset.

Solomatic CBD is also very easy to grow as she is an autoflowering cannabis strain, meaning no shift in light cycle is needed to move from veg to bloom. As a cross between Diesel CBD Auto and Asia CBD Auto, she is able to move quickly through her grow cycle, reaching harvest in a mere 9–10 weeks from seed.

Solomatic CBD

Solomatic CBD

	Diesel CBD x Asia CBD Auto
	150 - 200 gr/m2
	50 - 100 cm
	50 - 55 days
	THC: Up to 1%

	Sativa 20% Indica 70% Ruderalis 10%
	30 - 80 gr/plant
	60 - 100 cm
	Clear, Light
	75 - 85 days after sprouting

Buy Solomatic CBD