Amount exceeded
The RQS Blog
.
News and Industry
RQS News
Cannabis Culture
Cannabis Use
Cannabis How To
Gadgets and Accessories
Canna-recipes
Legalization
Cannabis Around The World
How to Make Highly Potent Cannabutter
You only need a few basic ingredients like salted butter, tap water, and of course, a good amount of trimmings, buds, or a mix of both. Learn how to make your own 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.
Contents:
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 color, most of us get nervous and can’t wait to manicure, dry and cure.
The first step after harvest is trimming. It can be a surprisingly satisfying job. After hours of carefully working through your buds like an artist, one question usually comes up: What should you do with all that trim and those 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 needs to be properly decarboxylated. This process activates cannabinoids by converting THCA and CBDA into THC and CBD.
Decarboxylation is the process of gently heating cannabis to convert inactive cannabinoids, such as THCA, into their active forms (like THC). If you skip this step, your butter will usually be much weaker, even if you use plenty of flower. For the oven method, lightly break up your dried cannabis, spread it evenly on a lined baking sheet, and heat it at a low, steady temperature until it becomes lightly toasted and aromatic.
Avoid scorching it, as too much heat can degrade cannabinoids and drive off flavorful terpenes. If you want exact times, temperatures, and troubleshooting tips, check out our dedicated decarboxylation article for a more detailed walkthrough.
Lightly grind or break apart the cured trim and flowers. Avoid grinding too finely, as this can make straining more difficult later on. Decarboxylate using a low-temperature method, then let the material cool completely before starting the 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 molds. Clearly tag 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.
|
So, in the case of 1000mg (1g) of weed: 1000/100 = 10 We have 200mg of THC. |
|
So, in the case of 1000mg (1g) of weed: 1000/100 = 10 We have 200mg of THC. |
|
In the case of 3g (3000mg) of cannabis: 3000/100 = 30 We have 600mg of THC. |
|
In the case of 3g (3000mg) of cannabis: 3000/100 = 30 We have 600mg of THC. |
|
Let's change it up. Let's say your cannabis contains 17% THC and you have 2g (2000mg): 2000/100 = 20 So 2g of 17% THC cannabis has 340mg of THC in it. |
|
Let's change it up. Let's say your cannabis contains 17% THC and you have 2g (2000mg): 2000/100 = 20 So 2g of 17% THC cannabis has 340mg of THC in it. |
-
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:
|
200/10 = 20 portions |
|
200/10 = 20 portions |
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:
|
14,000/100 = 140 140 × 22 = 3,080 This means we have 3,080mg of THC in our 250g of butter! |
|
14,000/100 = 140 |
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:
|
3,080/250 = 12.32 This means we have 12.32mg of THC in 1g of butter. |
|
3,080/250 = 12.32 |
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
The strain you choose can have a big impact on both the flavor and the overall experience of your cannabutter. Below are five reliable options that combine great taste with solid growing performance, making them excellent choices for infusion.
White Widow
White Widow offers earthy, pine-forward flavors with a balanced effect. She produces solid yields of 13–15 oz/yd² indoors and up to 21 oz/plant outdoors and flowers in 8–9 weeks, making her a dependable option for cannabutter.
White Widow
|
White Widow S1 |
|
16 to 19 oz/m² |
|
2 to 3 feet |
|
55 - 65 days |
|
Up to 19% |
|
Sativa 50% Indica 50% |
|
19 to 21 oz/plant |
|
5 to 6 feet |
|
Early October |
|
Powerful , Stoned |
|
Low |
Bubble Kush
Bubble Kush delivers sweet, earthy, and pine flavors that work especially well in desserts. This high-yielding strain produces up to 18 oz/yd² indoors and 23 oz/plant outdoors, with a short flowering time of 7–8 weeks.
Bubble Kush
|
|
Bubble Gum x O.G. Kush |
|
|
19 to 21 oz/m² |
|
|
3 to 5 feet |
|
|
55 - 65 days |
|
|
Up to 19% |
|
|
Sativa 20% Indica 80% |
|
|
21 to 23 oz/plant |
|
|
5 to 7 feet |
|
|
Late September |
|
|
Clear, Physically Relaxing, Stoned |
|
|
Low |
OG Kush
OG Kush features citrus, pine, and fruity notes paired with deeply relaxing effects. She yields up to 14 oz/yd² indoors and 19 oz/plant outdoors, flowering in 7–9 weeks.
OG Kush
|
|
Chemdawg x Lemon Thai x Pakistani Kush |
|
|
15 to 17 oz/m² |
|
|
3 to 5 feet |
|
|
50 - 60 days |
|
|
Up to 19% |
|
|
Sativa 25% Indica 75% |
|
|
18 to 19 oz/plant |
|
|
6 to 7 feet |
|
|
October |
|
|
Calming, Uplifting |
|
|
Medium |
Sherbet Queen
Sherbet Queen produces rich forest fruit flavors and thrives in warm climates. She’s easy to grow, resistant to fungi, and ready to harvest from late September through early October.
Sherbet Queen
|
|
Pink Panties x Sunset Sherbet |
|
|
16 to 18 oz/m² |
|
|
3 to 4 feet |
|
|
55 - 65 days |
|
|
Up to 24% |
|
|
Sativa 15% Indica 85% |
|
|
16 to 18 oz/plant |
|
|
5 to 6 feet |
|
|
October |
|
|
Calming, Clear, Heavy, Sleepy |
|
|
Low |
Solomatic CBD
Solomatic CBD offers notes of pine, ginger, and fruit, along with high CBD and low THC levels. This autoflowering strain is easy to grow and reaches harvest in just 9–10 weeks from seed.
Solomatic CBD
|
|
Diesel CBD x Asia CBD Auto |
|
|
5 to 7 oz/m² |
|
|
2 to 3 feet |
|
|
50 - 55 days |
|
|
Up to 1% |
|
|
Sativa 20% Indica 70% Ruderalis 10% |
|
|
1 to 3 oz/plant |
|
|
2 to 3 feet |
|
|
Clear, Light |
|
|
21% |
|
75 - 85 days after sprouting |
DisclaimerWhen consumed, THC metabolizes into 11-hydroxy-THC, which enters the body through the stomach and liver, resulting in a significantly stronger effect due to its increased affinity for CB1 receptors in the brain.
Ensure accurate portion control. Begin with small doses and gradually increase to develop tolerance.
Remember: Set and Setting will help you deal with various situations.
Stay Cultivated.
Categories
