Here at Greenside Recreational, we’re big on edibles. We stock dozens of cannabis-infused treats ranging from sour gummies to rich and gooey chocolate chip cookies. We even stock cannabis-infused roasted garlic potato chips (definitely a challenge not to go overboard on those!).
But as much as we love sourcing (and sampling!) these great, locally made products, the truth is that you’re perfectly capable of making your own cannabis-infused foods at home. All you need are cannabis, butter or oil, and a crockpot. This crockpot cannabutter recipe is just about foolproof. So, get your ingredients together and let’s get cooking!
Crockpot Cannabutter: How to Make Marijuana-infused Butter or Oil
Homemade cannabutter (or cannaoil) is a versatile ingredient to have at the ready. It’s simply butter—or some other oil or fat—infused with cannabis flower. If you use a flower vape, even better: You can use already-vaped flower! You can use it in your favorite recipes, swirl it into hot cocoa, or just spread it on toast. Be forewarned: It typically has a “weed” aroma to it, but if that’s not to your liking we’ll share a tip for removing it after the recipe.
Here’s the plan:
- Get out an ounce of fresh cannabis flower (or already vaped bud) and one pound (that’s four sticks) of butter. Alternately, use one and a half cups of the oil of your choice. You could go with a fruity olive oil or neutral-tasting coconut oil, depending on your taste.
- Grind the cannabis with a purpose-made grinder or a kitchen knife. Because it will be strained at the end, you’ll want to end up with small chunks, not a fine powder.
- Decarb the flower by placing it in a baking pan and baking it in a 240 degree oven for 40 minutes. This will convert the otherwise non-psychoactive THCA in the flower to THC.
- While you’re waiting for the decarbing process to complete, place a clean tea towel in the bottom of your crockpot, fill it with enough water so that it will rise at least 3/4 of the way up a couple of Mason jars. The 16-ounce wide-mouth size will fit two sticks of butter easily.
- Turn on the crockpot and get the water to 185 degrees (if your crockpot lacks a built-in thermometer, use a simple kitchen one instead). Once it reaches that point, turn the heat to “low.”
- Once the flower is done decarbing, divide it between the two Mason jars, and add half the butter (or oil) to each. Carefully place the jars in the crockpot, add hot water if necessary. Remember, you want the hot water to reach at least 3/4 of the way up the jars, but don’t add so much that it will overflow! Set the timer for four hours.
- Once the timer goes off, carefully remove the jars and allow them to cool enough so that you can handle them safely. Then carefully pour the crockpot cannabutter through a kitchen strainer, ideally one lined with cheesecloth. You may be tempted to squeeze out the plant matter, but don’t! This adds more chlorophyll and more of that “weed flavor,” but not more cannabinoids (the “good stuff” you want).
You’re done! Your delicious cannabutter will keep for at least two months on a dark pantry shelf, and about twice as long if stored in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.
Pro tip: If you store your crockpot cannabutter in the fridge, once it solidifies you can remove it from the jar and discard the water and any milk solids that have separated from the cannabis-infused butter. This will make cooking with the cannabutter a little simpler and cleaner down the road.
Crockpot Cannabutter: What About That “Weed Smell”?
As we mentioned before, cannabutter typically imparts a cannabis odor to what it’s added to. If this isn’t to your liking, there’s something you can do about it:
Gently and carefully melt the cannabutter down on the stovetop. Once it’s entirely liquid, add an equal amount of cold filtered water and whisk the two together. Carefully pour the cannabutter/water mixture into a clean container and leave in your refrigerator overnight. The next day, carefully remove the solid cannabutter particles and discard the water. You can then repeat the process for an even cleaner-tasting (and, anecdotally, more potent) cannabutter, or at this point you can simply press the oil back into a clean container.
Either way, we think you’ll be delighted with your crockpot cannabutter! Who knew cooking with cannabis could be so easy? If you have other questions about cannabutter—or anything else cannabis-related—don’t hesitate to ask. We’re always here to help!
Grab some great flower for your next edible baking adventure from our Des Moines dispensary. Check our menu now.
