How to Make Crock Pot Cannabutter
To save money, I learned how to make crock pot cannabutter (weed butter or ‘budder,’ if you will) that I could use in homemade edibles. I’m not an expert, but I am a cancer patient with chronic pain, insomnia, and anxiety.
When it comes to medical marijuana, I prefer edibles. For me, the pain relief is better and lasts longer. The downside? Dispensary edibles cost a small fortune. So here’s my budget-friendly recipe for how to make cannabutter in a crockpot.
Crock Pot Cannabutter Recipe
The first time I made slow cooker cannabutter, I was overwhelmed with advice. Everyone had a different recipe and a different method. My chemo brain just couldn’t handle all that. I needed a crockpot cannabutter recipe for dummies, so I whittled away until I could identify the most basic steps:
Step 1: Decarb the weed
Time: 30 minutes
If you don’t decarb marijuana before making cannabutter, the effects could be really disappointing. The THC needs to be activated by this simple process, and a few minutes in the oven will do the trick. Here’s what to do:
Materials
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- 6-7 grams of marijuana, ground
- Oven
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 250 °F (120 °C). Place marijuana on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake on the middle oven rack for about 30 minutes.
Notes on Decarbing
The science-y details of decarboxylation can be found here for anyone curious.
Break up whole buds into smaller pieces first. This increases surface area and allows things to heat more evenly.
Some people are very particular about breaking bud, recommending you do it by hand or with a manual grinder. (Get your pieces too small and they might burn or be hard to strain later.)
But because of cancer fatigue, I’m from the School of Do Everything the Easiest Way Possible. I recommend giving whole buds a couple of quick pulses in a clean coffee or spice grinder, being careful not to overdo it.
That said, it’s even easier if you use shake. Shake is essentially just the debris left after trimming and handling buds. There’s no need to grind it because it’s already the perfect size.
Added bonus: because shake’s ugly and contains some stem pieces, it’s a lot cheaper than whole flower.
Step 2: Slow Cook the Weed to make Cannabutter
Time: 3 hours
Materials
- Small crock pot (1.5 to 2 quart capacity)
- Reusable basket coffee filter
- 3/4 c. unsalted butter
- Crock pot liner for easy cleanup (optional)
Instructions
Warm 3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter in the slow cooker on the lowest heat setting until it is completely melted.
Put the decarbed weed in the reusable filter and place the filter in the melted butter. Steep for about three hours, on low stirring occasionally. The butter will turn murky and green as the THC magic happens.
Turn off the crock pot and let the cannabutter cool for about an hour. The goal is to cool it enough it won’t burn you, but not so much it becomes too thick to strain.
Lift the filter basket out of the cannabutter, letting the liquid drain completely back into the crock pot. If the cannabutter looks disgusting, you’re doing it right. Discard the used marijuana, unless you’ve got plans for the butter-soaked remains.
There may be fine bits of marijuana and really gross looking milk solids floating in your butter. To strain these, simply pour the cannabutter through the emptied filter basket and into a clean container.
After straining you’ll end up with about a 1/2 c. of cannabutter.
Potent Cannabutter Dosing
The most important thing to keep in mind if you’re new to slow cooker cannabutter or edibles in general: YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY. Start small, give it a couple of hours to kick in, and adjust as necessary.
Effects aren’t immediate. I usually feel them between 90 minutes and 2 hours after I’ve eaten. If, after only 15 minutes you think “this isn’t doing anything” and you keep eating food with really potent cannabutter, you could end up like the cop who made pot brownies and called 911 because he thought he and his wife were dead.
Personally, I find the cannabutter I make using these ratios to be nice and potent. But then I’m really sensitive to edibles. For example, if I use cannabuter as-is on an English muffin, I will only need a pat about the size of a pea. But this could also be suitable if you have a higher tolerance and are microdosing.
How to Portion Edibles
For example, if I make a 9 x 13 pan of brownies with this cannabutter, I will only need a brownie about the size of a mini candy bar (that’s right Mini—the smallest size, not to be confused with her big sister Fun Size).
Since I typically only take weed before bed, a pan of brownies can last 9 months—no exaggeration—saving me literally a thousand dollars over dispensary prices. (Pro-tip: Cut cooled brownies into portions for a full week of edibles, vac-seal, and freeze. I use a FoodSaver.)
Step 3: Use the Cannabutter in Your Favorite Recipe
Time: Varies by recipe
Cannabutter has a distinct flavor that you might find off-putting, especially if you’re a first-timer. I think it tastes the least offensive in things like brownies and peanut butter cookies.
You can use this crock pot cannabutter in any recipe you want, though, not just sweet treats. If it calls for more cannabutter than you have on hand, simply make up the difference with regular butter.
When I make a 9 x 13 pan of Cannabutter Brownies, I use 1/2 c. cannabutter and 1/2 c. regular butter.
You probably already know this, but just in case you don’t: you can replace most fats in your recipes at a 1:1 ratio. So you could swap 1 c. of vegetable oil with 1 c. of melted butter (and therefore cannabutter) if you wanted. What I’m trying to say is: you can also turn that boxed brownie mix in your pantry into something SPECTACULAR.
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