Name: How to Use Cannabis Trim to Make Cannabutter
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 270 min
Ingredients: 2.5 c butter or margarine; 56 g cannabis trim; 2 c water; 2 c boiling water for flushing

Make cannabutter with cannabis trim by decarboxylating, heating, straining, cooling and separating with this complete guide.

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How to make cannabutter with cannabis trim

Making Cannabutter at Harvest Time

Cannabis trim is produced when you harvest your cannabis plants. You most likely end up with a lot of sugar leaves and small nugs. Thankfully, this cannabis trim can become a bonus to you in the form of cannabutter.

What are Sugar Leaves?

Sugar leaves are small leaves that grow throughout the buds that are covered in sparkly, sugar-like resin crystals.

First Step in Making Cannabutter with Cannabis Trim

Thoroughly dry the cannabis trim, making sure that stalks and fan leaves have been removed. Next, you must decarboxylate your cannabis trim. Spread the dry cannabis trim material evenly on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet. Heat in the oven at 240°F for 25 to 30 minutes.

Infusing Butter with Cannabis Trim

The next step in making cannabutter with cannabis trim is to infuse the butter. The final result will be 2 cups of cannabutter.

First, melt 2 1/2 cups of butter or margarine in a heavy saucepan. More specifically, use a pot, not a frying pan. Once the butter is melted, add 2 ounces or 56 grams of cannabis trim to the butter and stir together.

Next, add 2 cups of water to the butter and cannabis. Stir thoroughly. Heat on medium just until the mixture starts to simmer, then turn heat down to low.

Finally, let the mixture simmer on low for 2 hours. In order to prevent evaporation, keep the saucepan covered with a lid or with heavy foil if you don’t have a lid. If you notice the water level going down, add more water. This prevents the butter from scorching and will help to release compounds in the plant material.

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Straining The Cannabutter

Once the cannabis trim, butter and water is done simmering, you need to strain the mixture through a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Strain the mixture into a large container that will fit into your fridge when you are done. After pouring the material into the strainer, press all of the liquid through by using a rubber spatula to push on the cannabis trim material.

Next, try to fluff up the cannabis trim in the strainer. At this point, pour boiling water through the strainer to flush all of the butter through. Now do a final press again to get all of the liquid pressed out of the cannabis trim.

Chill Zone

Let the strained mixture cool down until it is cool enough to put into the fridge. Refrigerate for several hours until the top layer is hard. What you will have in your container is a hard fat layer on top and a brown liquid layer underneath.

Remove the hard fat layer from the top and put into a container for future use. Discard the liquid because it is undesirable for any other use. Now you have smooth cannabutter that can be used in any recipe the same as regular butter or margarine.

Dosing Cannabutter with Cannabis Trim

You will lose up to 60 percent of your potency when compared to making cannabutter with premium flower. You can use the following example as a guide to dose your cannabutter.

We are using 56 grams of cannabis trim from a strain that contains 15% THC to make 2 cups of cannabutter. Times 56 by 1000 to get the number of milligrams. Next, times that number by 0.40 to reduce the potency by 60 percent. Now times the number by 0.15 for the concentration of THC, then times by 0.88 for the conversion of THCA to THC. This gives you the total amount in mg of THC contained in 2 cups of cannabutter.

56 (grams of trim) x 1000 (mg) x 0.40 (reduction in potency) x 0.15 (percentage THC) x 0.88 (conversion of THCA to THC) = 2957 mg (Total THC).

If you made 48 cookies with this amount of cannabutter, each cookie would have 62 mg THC.

These numbers are just an example and are estimated because the final amount of THC depends on the quality of trim used.