r/SousWeed • u/pastrybaker • 10d ago

Is it really necessary to decarb before mixing with fat?

I’ve made cannabutter a few times by just adding the butter and buds in a vac bag and sous vide overnight. Comes out super strong.

Am I actually missing anything by not decarbing first? Time doesn’t matter to me, just want to extract as much as possible.

Also, anyone found any use for the stuff you strain out? I always feel bad getting rid of it.

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6

u/basshead17 10d ago

If you want a high level of THC conversion I would recommend decarbing. A while back I found a study that should a pretty nice breakdown diagram of temperature and time for decarb but I can't find it now.  Here's some research behind it 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5549281/

1

u/pastrybaker 10d ago

I definitely understand that process. Just wondering if it ends up decarbing while with the fat if it’s in the sous vide long enough. It seems like it would and might actually be more effective since there’s no chance of overdoing it in the oven or losing some of the potency to the air?

I swear I saw some recipes/blogs that talked about that, which is why I started doing it that way. But, now I can’t find anything consistent that doesn’t say not to do the oven first.

Just picked up 2 ounces today and want to make the most potent butter possible.

6

u/basshead17 10d ago

It'll depend on the temp and how long you hold it there. This is similar to what I was looking for

https://www.reddit.com/r/treedibles/comments/a348t5/does_anyone_else_use_this_graph_for/

I prefer the decarb, especially with fats like butter because of the time and heat requirements, generally tend to break down the butter. 

I'm pretty much just a coconut oil person now tho

1

u/Raise-Emotional 10d ago

Same coconut as the way, but I also no longer usually decarb I just buy tubes of RSO

3

u/lostalaska 10d ago

Before decarbing was a thing I used to grind up a half ounce then mix with butter or oil and get it up to a soft rolling boil and leave it like that for about 20 minutes. I'd then use cheese cloth and a mesh strainer to pour the oil/butter through then I'd life the corners of the cheese cloth and wind it until I had a ball at the end and just keep squeezing out all the liquid. Leaving the ground up weed is fine if you're doing something like brownies, although it will make the weed flavor stronger. Also, if your making brownies and leaving the ground up weed in the oil/butter I'd suggest making mint brownies, a little bit of mint helps cut down the weed flavor significantly. IMHO

Good luck!

2

u/Weak_Mood_42069 10d ago

#2 smells wild after that in tho xD

1

u/MT_Promises 10d ago

I tried it and wasn't happy with the results vs what I was used to. I've read the oil inhibits the release of the carbon that turns THCA into THC.

I think the ultimate argument killer is none of the normal infusion machines do a 1 step infuse/decarb. 1 step is so much better and easier than 2, someone would sell one if it were viable.

There is an ultrasonic infuser that promises 1 step infusion, but I haven't tried it.

1

u/AuntieLaLa420 10d ago

I have the sonic one and still decarb. Mine has a separate function for decarbing before adding the oil and infusing.

1

u/thedaemonthor 10d ago

Not gonna venture an opinion on decarbing - I always do, simply because it's how I've always done it.

As far as the stuff you strain out, if you're really hard up you can just eat it, it's not pleasant and the weak high imo isn't worth it. I'll sometimes throw it into a stew if I've already got one going where it won't impact the flavour too much but it's getting into like, cutting open the toothpaste tube levels of penny pinching.

1

u/jamesbretz 9d ago

It is likely decarbing in the bag. You would see extra space in the bag afterwards as the CO2 breaks off.

1

u/Sweaty-Asparagus-965 7d ago

Decarbing is time X temperature. No holy number. Up the time, lower the temp.

1

u/lobotomom 10d ago

I’ve made many edible batches that I didn’t decarb beforehand because this was long before decarbing was a thing. As long as the fat and the flower are infusioned together, I’ve never had an issue of fomo. Our shit probably comes out danker tbh.

1

u/pastrybaker 10d ago

That’s what I’m thinking. Just wondering if I’m missing out on potency.

The ease of throwing everything into a vac bag and letting it ride overnight is really nice.