Getting your daily dose of THC shouldn't require coughing and hacking through bong hits or dropping hundreds of dollars on vaporizers. Here's how to give your cooking a dash of psychedelic deliciousness.
Obligatory Bob Loblaw Disclaimer: While cannabis is legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington, as well as for medical use in 20 states and D.C., it is still technically illegal under federal law. Do this at your own risk. Also remember that edibles require longer to take effect (anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours) but hit way harder than smoking, along with longer lasting effects (anywhere from 2 to 8 hours depending on the strength of the butter and the number of brownies you just inhaled). Do not attempt to drive, operate heavy machinery, perform surgery, perform long division, or generally move further from your couch than absolutely necessary.
Supplies
- A double boiler or two sauce pans (just make sure the smaller upper saucepan fits well enough to nestle within the larger lower one).
- Wooden spoon
- Large mixing bowl
- Cheese cloth
- rubber band
- Tupperware or similar lidded containers
- Herb Grinder
- 1 pound of butter—whether salted or unsalted is up to you but you can't use margarine.
- 1 ounce of high-grade cannabis, stemmed and seeded. None of that ditch weed bullshit, quality herb is absolutely essential to making quality butter.
Method
- Remove all stems and seeds from the cannabis nugs (or shake, if that's what you're using). Finely grind the entire ounce and set aside in the large mixing bowl.
- Fill the lower chamber of the double boiler (or lower saucepan) with 3-4 cups of water and set over medium-high heat. Seat the upper chamber (or saucepan) on top of the lower section and add the pound of butter.
- Heat the butter until it fully melts then reduce heat to simmer.
- Pour the ounce of ground cannabis into the upper chamber and mix well with the wooden spoon. Allow the mixture to continue to simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring regularly, until the liquefied butter turns emerald green. While the butter is infusing, wipe out the large mixing bowl that held the cannabis, stretch a piece of cheese cloth across the rim and secure it with a rubber band.
- Once the butter has been sufficiently infused, remove from heat and gently pour the contents of the pan over the cheese cloth to strain. As the rate of butter flow slows, carefully lift the edges of the cheese cloth from the rim of the bowl to create a ball of processed, buttery weed. Hold the ball against the side of the mixing bowl and gently press out any remaining butter using the mixing spoon.
- Pour the butter from the mixing bowl into the Tupperware container. Cover and refrigerate overnight until the butter firms.
- As the butter cools and solidifies, the oils separate from waste water, which should be discarded before using the butter.
How to Use Cannabutter
Dr Seuss may have suffered from the occasional flight of fancy but he was spot on regarding green eggs and ham. Fry an egg and some Canadian bacon in cannabutter to make your own. Otherwise, employ cannabutter as you would regular butter in any cooking or baking project.