Cooking with Cannabis Part 2: Decarboxylating
Using infusions and extracts is a great way to unlock pot’s psychaoctive effects and use it in your cooking.
Read on below to learn more about how to do it through decarboxylation:
How to Decarboxylate
Decarboxylating is the process of using heat to release the THC, or the psychoactive compound in cannabis in order to feel a good high. An effective method of doing this is by roasting the cannabis in a preheated 240°F/116°C oven by following this recipe:
Tools:
The best quality cannabis you can find
Pyrex or baking tray
Parchment paper
Tin foil
1. Use your hands to break up the buds and flowers into smaller pieces. You can also opt to use a grinder so you can get smaller pieces. Avoid grinding it to a powdery consistency - this would be too find to use for cooking. Ideally it should be a little larger than the size of table salt.
2. Put the ground herb in an oven-safe dish or a rimmed baking sheet. The marijuana should be on equal levels throughout the dish so that all parts are heated equally. Simply dumping everything without spreading the herb out evenly will result in incomplete decarboxylation because the center will take longer to heat up than the outer herbs.
3. Wrap it up using aluminum foil to prevent compounds from vaporizing during the process. Keeping it as airtight as possible will help produce the best quality herbs from this procedure. You will need to decarboxylate it for a longer period of time if the marijuana has a high moisture content or it feels sticky between your fingers after the procedure, unless you will be exposing it to heat again such as mixing it with butter for cooking. Otherwise, bake the ground marijuana for 1 hour and let it cool.
4. When the decarboxylation process has completed, you will notice that the marijuana will turn into a brownish color.
Now you can add the leaves into butter, oil, alcohol; make it into a tincture, eat or drink as you wish with other
ingredients.
Decarb tips:
Don’t waste infused oils by sauteing with it. The right way to use infused oils is by adding it at the end, right before you serve a meal such as mixing it with a sauce.
Shake infusions before you use them, the same way that you would with a salad dressing. Not doing so will result in the THC settling in the bottom, since it is a heavy compound.
Always make sure to grind the weed before decarbing. Doing so can help you maximize the surface area that comes into contact with another medium, whether it’s fat, alcohol, or coffee. You can use a grinder for small amounts but a food processor will work just as well.
Using an oven-safe thermometer can help you better gauge what the internal temperature of your oven is. Not all ovens will actually heat up to 400 even if that’s what it says outside.
Never use a microwave - each unit will vary in power from another and it’s just too difficult to gauge. You might risk using high temperatures for too long and increasing chances of vaporization.
Have you ever tried decarbing? How did it come out?
