Unbearable smell when cooking canna butter

So I’ve just recently finished my first harvest and I threw together an ounce of shake, trim, and also some hugely under developed buds from the lower parts of my branches which hadn’t even formed properly.

First time ever making canna-butter. It has 2 cups of butter and 2 cups of water and an ounce of the bud which was heated in oven for an hour on a low heat.

the smell... it’s beyond horrible. I’ve been smoking for 15 years and it doesn’t smell anything like “dank weed” it smells horrible.. it smells like a sewer - to the point I’m gagging and having to breathe through my mouth - this can’t be normal?! Can it?! I’ve genuinely always loved the smell of weed but this smell is making me feel physically sick. Does anyone have advice?

Yup it does smell that bad. Thats why brownies, to mask the taste. I haven't done it myself yet but there are good recipes out there that don't use water at all and just strain and the logic seems pretty good to as why.

You only need enough water to prevent the butter from burning. I usually only use 2-3 cups of water when I make 6-8 pounds of butter. Just let it simmer and it won’t stink that bad.

TreeFarmerCharlie said:

You only need enough water to prevent the butter from burning. I usually only use 2-3 cups of water when I make 6-8 pounds of butter. Just let it simmer and it won’t stink that bad.

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yeh it’s simmering but damn I feel so sick from the smell.. not nice at all.. nothing like the smell of burning weed. I’ve literally never experienced any edibles in my life so thought I’d just make a tray of brownies for tonight with an ounce and see what happens but it’s just the smell.. I can’t even describe it.. it’s just nothing like a “weed” smell I’ve ever smelt

Cillit_Bang said:

yeh it’s simmering but damn I feel so sick from the smell.. not nice at all.. nothing like the smell of burning weed. I’ve literally never experienced any edibles in my life so thought I’d just make a tray of brownies for tonight with an ounce and see what happens but it’s just the smell.. I can’t even describe it.. it’s just nothing like a “weed” smell I’ve ever smelt

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Most of the smell that grossed me out is the butter. Are you sure you didn’t overcook the weed in the oven? What temp did you decarb it at? I usually put it in at 225° for about 45 minutes. It’s also best to chop it all up before you decarb it so it is heated more evenly.

TreeFarmerCharlie said:

Most of the smell that grossed me out is the butter. Are you sure you didn’t overcook the weed in the oven? What temp did you decarb it at? I usually put it in at 225° for about 45 minutes. It’s also best to chop it all up before you decarb it so it is heated more evenly.

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I put it on about 120c for an hour. It was almost the lowest my oven would even go .. what happens if I’ve overcooked the weed let’s say? Disaster? Terrible butter? Gross smell?

I crush up thin mints, or grasshoppers into my brownie mix to further cover the taste.
Cannabutter definitely stinks and tastes like cannabutter

Try using Kief instead of "green" material. Much better taste/smell IMHO.
Butter, coco oil, hash caps.

It just looks strange.. should that water at the bottom be sewage brown?!

Looks like mine. I usually warm it back up and discard more gross soup

Put it in the fridge overnight and then dump the water

Cillit_Bang said:

It just looks strange.. should that water at the bottom be sewage brown?!
View attachment 4560454

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Yes, the fine particulates from the plant material will settle into the water. Put it in the fridge, let it harden, then take the butter layer off and dump the rest. If you overcooked the bud then it will affect potency and it will give a more “toasted” flavor to the butter.
BTW, my wife and I must be weird because we both actually like the flavor it adds to brownies.

TreeFarmerCharlie said:

Yes, the fine particulates from the plant material will settle into the water. Put it in the fridge, let it harden, then take the butter layer off and dump the rest. If you overcooked the bud then it will affect potency and it will give a more “toasted” flavor to the butter.
BTW, my wife and I must be weird because we both actually like the flavor it adds to brownies.

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I’ve put my finger on the smell, it’s a stewed rotten smell if that makes any sense at all? I’m worried because I used poor quality product for the butter it’ll affect the overall product.

i plan to make brownies too. I have dark cooking chocolate for the base but I always add in chopped up chunks of whites chocolate and milk chocolate into my brownies too so hopefully they taste ok.

why bother cooking it in the oven if you're just going to put it into hot butter?

To cut down on the smell while making it, seal the butter, water, and weed in a vacuum bag and simmer the bag in a pot of water.

Observe & Report said:

why bother cooking it in the oven if you're just going to put it into hot butter?

To cut down on the smell while making it, seal the butter, water, and weed in a vacuum bag and simmer the bag in a pot of water.

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The main reason is because you would have to cook the butter a lot longer at a simmering temperature (minimum of 90 minutes) to decarb it enough.

TreeFarmerCharlie said:

The main reason is because you would have to cook the butter a lot longer at a simmering temperature (minimum of 90 minutes) to decarb it enough.

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Sure but why not do all of the decarb in the butter? Seems easier to leave it in longer than messing around with the oven as an additional step.

Observe & Report said:

Sure but why not do all of the decarb in the butter? Seems easier to leave it in longer than messing around with the oven as an additional step.

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The flavor of the plant matter leaches into the butter more if you cook the butter longer that way. It’s not like it really takes any additional time. I just have it decarbing while I’m putting all the butter into the pot and wait for it to melt.

Try coconut oil next time instead of butter.
Better infusion, healthier, and much better product imo.
FF

I stopped using the water and butter boil method years ago. I agree it's nasty.
Nowadays I just decarb my herb in a glass jar in the oven, and then mix 1.5g - 4g with 1 stick of melted butter, and then strain it through a mesh or cheese cloth.

Mine does'nt stink at all?? It smells like dank and butter