Butter is one of those ingredients that seems to make any meal better.

Want delicious and creamy mashed potatoes? Add butter. Craving some Belgian waffles? Don't forget the butter. Even grilled cabbage is better with butter.

As the cannabis edibles market appears poised for continuous expansion, it really shouldn't be any big surprise that cannabis and butter could make a delightful pairing. It is the versatility of butter that gives cannabutter wide appeal. It can be used in any recipe requiring butter, whether simply adding it to toast or making a more involved meal such as lemon butter chicken. With butter being a kitchen staple, cannabutter can serve as the foundation of many homemade edibles recipes — including the ever-popular chocolate brownie.

What you'll need

This cannabutter recipe isn't terribly complicated, but it does take time. You'll need about 3 hours for actual cook time. But before you get cooking, you'll need some supplies.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks), or 226 grams, of unsalted butter

3.5 grams of ground cannabis (15% THC)

Materials:

Scale

Grinder (optional)

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

Double boiler

Metal mesh strainer

Cheesecloth

Spatula/other utensils

Candy thermometer

Mason jar

First, assemble all the ingredients and materials needed to make cannabutter. Photo by: Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Flower is essentially cannabis buds, which have the most cannabinoids. To decarboxylate (or decarb) simply means to heat the marijuana flower in order to turn the non-intoxicating tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) into the intoxicating delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This step is required when cannabis is ingested rather than smoked.

To decarb means to heat the marijuana flower in order to turn the non-intoxicating THCA into the intoxicating THC. Photo by: Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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For this recipe, you'll need 2 sticks of butter for every eighth, or 3.5 grams, of marijuana. Here is how the math breaks down:

One gram of cannabis flower is equal to 1,000 milligrams. If the cannabis flower you're using tests at 15% THC, then using 1 gram will produce 150 milligrams of THC. With 3.5 grams of flower, it will make 525 milligrams of THC.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: First, we're going to decarboxylate the weed. Use a hand grinder to break apart the flower. Put parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the herb evenly across the surface.

Put parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the herb evenly across the surface and place in the oven. Photo by: Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Step 2: Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 105 degrees Celsius, place the sheet in the oven and heat for 30 minutes.

Step 3: While the weed is decarboxylating, set up the double boiler and warm the butter to degrees Fahrenheit, or about 105 degrees Celsius as well. This will finish decarbing any weed that wasn't completely converted.

Step 4: Once the weed comes out of the oven, pour it into the room temperature, melted butter and stir well.

Step 5: Keep the butter at the same temperature for 45 minutes.

Step 6: Remove the butter from the stove. Filter it through a metal mesh strainer lined with two layers of cheesecloth.

Filter the butter through a metal mesh strainer lined with two layers of cheesecloth. Photo by: Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Step 7: Gently squeeze the plant matter to get the majority of the butter out. Do not squeeze to excess, as you don't want plant matter or unnecessary compounds entering the mix.

Step 8: Refrigerate the butter while preparing the rest of the ingredients so that it's still soft, but a little more firm for smooth and even mixing.

Step 9: Your cannabis butter is ready to eat. It will keep up to two months in the fridge and six months in the freezer.

Other cannabutter recipes

Of course, the above isn't the only way to go about making weed butter. The cannabis chef community has whipped up a few alternatives over the years to simplify the infused-food-making process, as long as you have the right tools.

How to make slow cooker cannabutter

To create cannabis butter in your slow cooker, you'll need to assemble the following ingredients and supplies:

A slow cooker

Metal strainer

16 ounces of water

16 ounces/4 sticks of butter

¼ ounce of cannabis flower, ground using a hand grinder

A storage container

Turn on the slow cooker to low heat or its lowest setting. Add all the ingredients and give them a good stir. Secure the lid and allow your butter to cook for 12-18 hours: the longer it cooks, the more potent. Once you're done cooking, pour the weed butter through a metal strainer into a separate bowl to remove the plant material. Place the butter in the refrigerator to cool, and as it hardens, the water will separate. Once it's cold, remove the butter from the water and store it in an airtight container.

The cannabis chef community has whipped up a few alternatives over the years to simplify the infused-food-making process, like making cannabutter in a slow cooker. Photo by: Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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How to make sous vide cannabutter

It's also simple to make cannabis-infused butter using the sous vide method. To begin, assemble the following tools and ingredients:

Sous vide cooking device

A large pot

A large Ziploc bag

16 ounces/4 sticks of butter - melted

¼ ounce of ground, decarbed cannabis flower

Metal strainer

Pour the melted butter into a Ziploc bag, making sure it's cooled enough so that it doesn't melt the bag. Decarb your cannabis as described above to convert the THCA to THC, and add the flower to the bag.

Set your sous vide cooking device to 185 degrees Fahrenheit and gently add the bag to the water. Leave a small opening at the top of the bag as you lower it into the water so the pressure can force the air out of the bag. Once the water level reaches just below the opening, seal the bag and fully submerge. Allow the bag to soak for four hours. When it's done, remove the bag from the water bath and pour the mixture into a bowl or jar through the metal strainer to remove the plant material. Use immediately or store the infused butter in a jar for later use.

Ingredients matter

Quality is always important to keep in mind when you are using cannabis – especially if you'll be eating it. Many states that have legalized adult-use or medical cannabis require laboratory testing as part of licensing for marijuana dispensaries – but not all of them do. If your state does not yet require laboratory testing, make sure the cannabis you purchase is third-party tested.

Quality is always important to keep in mind when you are using cannabis – especially if you'll be eating it. Photo by: Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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If your state does require testing, learn about what your state's dispensaries must test. Cannabis plants are very susceptible to absorbing everything they're exposed to during cultivation, which can include pesticides and heavy metals. Each state that requires lab testing may have varying maximum allowed levels for these and other unwanted toxicants, including mold and fungal contaminants.

Quality counts for the butter you buy, too.

Get the right potency

Knowing how strong your cannabis is will impact how much cannabutter you should use once you're ready to get cooking, or eating. When buying your cannabis flower for your cannabutter, make sure you know its cannabinoid and terpene profiles, as well as if its THC-dominant, CBD-dominant, or a more balanced mixture. These can all have an impact on the effect that cannabis will have on you.

Reading the label and the laboratory certificate of analysis, and asking your budtender can all help get you this information. If you are looking for a more mellow high or are a beginner, you'll want to avoid THC-dominant cannabis.

Once you have the right potency for yourself and you've made your cannabutter, you can use that information to determine how much of your custom cannabutter to use for your various recipes. A more mild cannabutter may require a teaspoon for your smoothie, but a very potent butter would use much less. There will be some trial-and-error involved so you'll want to start in smaller increments no matter which food or drink you're making.

How to eat cannabutter

The possibilities are endless when it comes to eating cannabutter. For non-cooking types, just toast some bread and spread the cannabutter right on. For hobbyist chefs, there are a number of cannabis cookbooks and fun recipes exploring how to make edibles.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to eating cannabutter. Photo by: Gina Coleman/Weedmaps