Lung-Health Measures

December 21, 2009 6:54 PM

Why doesn't my cannabutter work?

Actually it's not mine... it's a friend's.

Anyway, there's lots of recipes out there, but this friend needs some reliable instructions. First time, he just chucked it in the pot, let it simmer, and then poured it into a dish and let it settle in the fridge overnight, leading to the most unexpectedly potent stonage of all time! But when trying to replicate this using the exact same simple procedure, the butter was a dud (I mean, tasted equally shite, but no effect). What happened? Is there a certain temperature that kills the active ingredients, or a certain length of time or what? It can be pretty annoying when you waste a big bagfull like this. Or so I've heard. Any special cannabutter secrets, or directions to fail-safe, idiot-proof recipes, will be appreciated.

posted by moorooka to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

I don't think a low simmer will de-fun-ify the THC in your product; IIRC it takes a very high heat--like a direct flame--to nullify it.

let it simmer

For how long? This is important, I think. The time...my friend did it, he would first grind down the buds as small as possible, then place in a saucepan and simmer on low heat, the lowest possible flame setting. He simmered it for an hour, this may have been overkill, but he was lamenting that he should've simmered it for two hours but didn't have the time.

After an hour, turn off heat and when still liquid, strain out anything and everything solid. You just want the infused butter and nothing else.
posted by zardoz at 7:12 PM on December 21, 2009

The idiot-proof recipe involves using water as a buffer to prevent the butter/bud mixture from overheating and burning out the THC. Since the water will only reach boiling and never go above, you don't run the risk of overheating. Also, the butter won't evaporate away from frying.

I'd say use a few cups of water in a plain saucepan. Throw butter in and let it melt, it'll stay on top, toss bud in.

After an hour or two, strain into a rectangular glass baking dish, refrigerate. When it hardens, you should have a thin layer of green butter above the nasty water. Store butter, toss water.
posted by ijoyner at 10:27 PM on December 21, 2009

Rolling boil -> cold 2-phase extraction would seem to be the method of choice, allegedly
posted by lalochezia at 10:29 PM on December 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

So, I've read recipes similar to ijoyner's before, and while I don't personally plan on performing it, I always wondered, how much stink would such a process generate? If you were in a multi-unit apartment-type situation, would neighbors be able to smell it?
posted by blenderfish at 1:23 AM on December 22, 2009

blenderfish - I had a roommate who tried a whole slew of 'low smell' recipes, but pretty much any time heat was applied, there was a noticeable smell. That smell could be covered up, but if you knew what you were sniffing for, you could still smell it. Eventually he just went the tincture method in order to appease those of us in the house that didn't want our place smelling of weed.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:37 AM on December 22, 2009