How To: Decarboxylation

How To: Decarboxylation

One of the most important steps to preparing your cannabis and creating potent edibles. Don’t skip this step when cooking with flower/bud/plant matter.

My friends at MagicalButter.com have done a magnificent job of explaining how to Calibrate Your Oven & Decarboxylate Your Cannabis Flower. Here are their suggestions & Recommendations. I follow them to a ‘T’ and have great success.

Do not attempt decarboxylation with most common culinary herbs or fruits.
It will remove the moisture and flavor yielding undesirable results.

Most ovens operate on an approximation, average, or range of values for any given temperature. Calibrating your oven is essential to accurate decarboxylation and baking. Do NOT skip this vital step, or your sample could be destroyed. After calibration is completed, proceed to Step 2.

Step 1: Calibrating Your Oven

  1. Place an oven thermometer inside your oven, and close the door.
  2. Preheat the oven to a desired decarb temperature. In the Decarboxylation Guide below, the great majority of consumers will want to use the first (lowest) temperature listed.
  3. Once the oven signals that it has finished preheating, take a temperature reading. This will tell you if the oven actually reached the desired temperature you had set.
  4. If the actual temperature reading on the thermometer differs from your oven setting, then raise or lower the setting by that amount to compensate when decarbing. For example, if your setting is 250°F but the thermometer reads 270°F, then your oven runs hot. You would then compensate by lowering your setting 20 degrees, to 230°F.

Step 2: Decarboxylating Your Cannabis Flower

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Wait until oven is fully preheated before proceeding. Do NOT exceed recommended temperature.
  2. Break up flowers and buds into smaller pieces with your hands.
  3. Place botanicals inside DecarBox baking shell, and firmly press lid down on all sides to seal.
  4. Bake 30 minutes on center oven rack. Do NOT exceed recommended duration.
  5. When time is up, remove DecarBox from oven. Let cool completely, or chill in freezer 10-15 minutes. This step is believed to help preserve certain beneficial phytonutrients. Your sample is now ready for any cycle in your MagicalButter botanical extractor.

Decarboxylation Guide:

While 250°F/121°C is the optimal temperature to activate T-C, slightly higher temperatures (along with longer cook times) are effective at activating other beneficial cannabinoids like C-D and C-N, should you choose to highlight them instead. Please note that while higher temperatures/times help activate C-D and then C-N, each higher temp/time can also diminish the effect of a previously activated cannabinoid.

Target Temperature Minutes
T-C 250°F/121°C 30-45
C-D 280°F/140°C 60-90
C-N 320°F/160°C 90-120

Chef Notes:

If you do not have a DecarBox, use an oven roasting bag or on a rimmed baking sheet. Make sure the pan is the correct size so there is not an empty space on the pan. Bake the cannabis for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so that it toasts evenly. When the cannabis is darker in color—a light to medium brown—and has dried out, remove the bag or baking sheet and allow the cannabis to cool. It should be quite crumbly when handled.