Decarboxylating your cannabis is an essential part of the edible making process. It sounds complicated, but is extremely easy and there are many ways you can do it at home. Today, we will be showing you how to decarb weed using an oven. If you do not have an oven, don’t worry! Scroll to the bottom of this page for tutorials on how to decarb weed without an oven.
Keep reading to understand what decarboxylating is, and why we need to do it to make strong edibles. To jump straight to how to decarb your weed – click on the “jump to recipe” button above.
Looking for a machine that can decarb perfectly every time? Check out the LEVO II Oil Infuser. Not only can you decarb with it, you can also make cannabutter, gummies, and even tinctures with it (plus loads more things).
What is cannabis decarboxylation?
It is a chemical reaction that converts THC-A into THC, and CBD-A into CBD. “Decarboxylating” activates the THC and CBD in cannabis so that it becomes bio-available. Without activating the THC and CBD in your cannabis, you cannot get those desired medicating and intoxicating effects we all know and love.
When you smoke or vaporize weed, the high heat automatically decarboxylates it before you inhale. This is why you do not need to decarb before smoking or vaping. This is also why you can use AVB (already vaped bud) for edibles and not need to go through the decarb process first. Vaporised cannabis is already decarboxylated.
If you ate a raw cannabis bud, it wouldn’t produce any intoxicating effects because the cannabinoids have not been activated. However, if you ate a properly decarboxylated cannabis bud – the chances are you will feel some psychoactive effects from it. This is because the THC and CBD in it are now activated and can bind to your cannabinoid receptors.
Typically, decarboxylation is achieved by the use of heat. However, it also happens slowly over time when cannabis is being cured. With that being said, the decarboxylation that occurs during curing is very minimal. We still highly recommend you decarboxylate cured buds before cooking with them.
Factors that can affect the decarboxylation process
There are many factors that can affect the decarboxylation process of your cannabis. It is important that you only use decarb tutorials as a rough guide because of this. Decarboxylation guides can give you the suggested time and temperature for decarbing your weed, however you may need to adjust these depending on certain factors:
- Age, freshness, type, and moisture content of your cannabis
- Type of tray or oven dish you are decarbing your weed in
- Quantity of weed you are decarbing
Fresher weed generally has more moisture in it than older stuff, and requires longer in the oven to properly decarb. If you have old super dry weed, it will decarb quicker due to the less moisture in it.
Decarbing weed in an oven tray may be quicker than decarbing in a glass or ceramic oven dish. It can take over 10 minutes for the inside of a ceramic dish to reach the same temperature as the preheated oven.
The quantity of cannabis you are decarboxylating can also affect how long you need to decarb it for. If you decarb 3.5g of buds, it will be decarboxylated much quicker than a whole tray of buds. The cumulative moisture from a whole tray of buds will mean you need to decarb for longer or at a higher temperature.
Considering all of these factors that can affect your decarbing process – the best way to make sure you do it right is to use temperature and time charts as a loose guide. Don’t be afraid to check on your weed while it’s decarbing. If you’ve had it in the oven for longer than the guide tells you but it still doesn’t look done, put it back in for a few minutes then check again.
What should my weed look like after I decarb it?
Properly decarboxylated cannabis will have a different appearance than before you decarb’d it. If your cannabis hasn’t changed to a darker green or golden brownish colour by the time you are finished decarbing, it might not be fully decarboxylated yet. Do not worry though – you can simply put it back in the oven until it is done. We recommend checking it every 5 minutes to ensure it does not burn.
How to decarb weed in oven
How To Decarboxylate Cannabis In Oven
Equipment
- Baking tray or oven dish
- Foil (optional – helps preserve terpenes)
Materials
- Dried Cannabis Buds, Shake or Trim (desired amount)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 240°F (115°C).
- Weigh up the amount of cannabis you want to decarboxylate.
- Break apart or crumble your cannabis and remove any unwanted seeds and stems.
- Spread the cannabis into an even layer on a baking paper lined tray or dish. If you do not have baking paper, you can put the cannabis directly on the tray/dish.
- Cover the tray/dish tightly with foil then put it into the pre-heated oven and bake your weed for 25-35 minutes.
- Half way through baking, give your cannabis a little shake to mix it around and evenly decarb. Try not to remove the lid while doing this if possible.
- After 25-35 minutes in the oven, check on your cannabis to see if it's ready. It should now have turned slightly light brown'ish and be very dry. If it is not yet done, put it back into the oven until it is done. Check on it regularly to ensure it does not burn.
- Remove your cannabis from the oven and let it cool down with the cover still on. Let the vapours and aromas settle back into the herb before you take off the cover. Once cooled (5-10 minutes), your decarbed cannabis is now ready to use.
Notes
Can i decarb weed without an oven?
Yes you can! If you do not have an oven available, do not worry – there are other things you can use to decarb your weed.
Here are a few alternatives to using an oven:
- Microwave
- Glass jar in boiling water
- Rice Cooker
- Crock Pot
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115C for 45 mins turned out well for me. My bud had more moisture (recently harvested) than usual so it took a bit longer
good easy to follow guide. do ya have any tips for how to contain the weedy smell when decarbing? the foil on top doesnt contain the smell very well
Best way I have found to contain the smell is by decarbing in a mason jar. It still smells a bit though but contains most of it
The mason jar decarb method works great for containing and hiding the cannabis aromas. Check it out 🙂
Try decarbing your marijuana in a roasting bag.
Really there isn’t a way to curb the smell Just crank the fan and open a few doors.
If i use trim do i need to grind it first before decarb or better not to?
Tip: don’t grind to a dust before decarbing. It’s better to have a rough grind than a fine grind
You do not need to grind trim but you can if you want to. Just don’t grind it to a fine powder.
Use a rough grind. The ground buds should be about rice sized grains. Then spread evenly over parchment paper.
How can I tell when hash is finished decarbing
Hash will darken similar to how cannabis darkens during decarbing. You can’t really tell just by the colour though so I suggest timing the decarb. 40 minutes in the oven at 115c should be enough. If your hash is in a block, remember to break it into much smaller pieces before decarbing.
What can I do if I don’t have foil to cover it?
You can still decarb without a cover but just be mindful and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. It will be more susceptible to burning without a cover. It would be a good idea to move the shelf in the oven a bit lower to keep the cannabis a bit further away from the heating element.
theres a dark layer in the bottom of my cannabutter, is it ok still?
Yes that is just bits of plant matter from your weed. You can prevent that from happening by using a finer filter to strain out the cannabis.
My edibles were very strong thanks
If decarbing in oven first, does the flowers need to cook in oil to make canna butter or infused olive oil.
Or can the oven decarb flowers just be place in jar of olive oil, and stay in olive oil for 4 weeks for infused oil/ tincture.
The decarbed flowers don’t need to cook in oil to make those things you mentioned, but the heat is known to help with the infusion.
You can put decarbed flower into a jar with oil but i cannot comment on how well it will infuse as I have not tested this myself. I would suggest heating up whatever oil/butter you want to infuse, pour it into a jar, and add the decarbed flower into the hot oil then shake vigorously every few mins until it has cooled down. Then if you want to leave it to infuse for longer – keep it in a cool dry place (like a cupboard) and shake it well every day or two.
You can also make a tincture the same way. Heres a step by step guide on how to make cannabis tincture.
Wow. This is the first time I tried to “decarb” my weed before I put it into edibles and I must say it makes such a big difference. I used to just grind the bud and mix it into a premade brownie or cookie mix and they still got me stoned. But with this batch I decarbed it’s so strong compared to when I didn’t decarb it that I have to have much much less (2/3rds of a cookie)
I burnt my butter by accident (forgot about it) and its light brown colored and smells a bit burned too. Is it still ok to make brownies with? I put quite a lot in and I don’t want it to go to waste 🙁
What if I have a mixture of vaped and ground flower?
Can I use a mixture of vaped and ground flower?
Yes you can, it works.
Can you decarb using a vacuumed seal bag and putting into boiling water?
You can! (sort of) – check out our guide on how to decarb cannabis sous vide. It’s a good method if smell is an issue.
very good and strong buter. taste is nice as well. good for sleep
Great note… I was used to decarb for 15 min then put it into boiling butter for about three hours to make cookies. Now I’ll try this method
Thanks for your comment Jo! What did you think of this method compared to the one you are used to?