I hope I am posting in the right place. I just finished reading the excellent green dragon thread by @ReikoX and want to give that method a go. I’d done it years ago but boy did I get some looks when the family got home. I’m looking for a way to decarboxylate without the smell.
I saw a few examples of people going “sous vide” style in a water bath but the temp seems a little low. Especially when you compensate for altitude.
So I was thinking of vacuum bagging the bud and throwing it in my electric pressure cooker. The temp would be very consistent 230-250 and never get above 250 deg. And best of all no smell and no babysitting required! I found one guy doing it here
He’s saying 230 to 250 degrees for 40 minutes and using a jar in the pressure cooker.
Anyway just wondering if anyone had any experience or thoughts on this method. I might give it a go this week
It will work, but one potential problem with decarbing in a sealed jar is moisture. When reducing the added moisture can sometimes cause separation of the oil and water.
That being said, it sure would stop any smell. And may work out well with the added pressure.
@ReikoX
I didn’t think about the drying action in the oven. I’m going to use some older outdoor stuff that got to dry for my liking so I might be ok.
Do you see any problem using a vacuum bag instead of a jar? I don’t know how many psi a jar can take but I don’t want to find out.
Somewhere I saw something about using vacuum seal bags for decarbing in a pressure cooker. But @cogitech is correct. Those are used at higher temperatures for that amount of time, all the time for canning.
I have also seen something about using vacuum seal bags in a water bath to decarb. Has anyone done this?
I did notice one thing in the article, he says put on the weight, but he does not say which one. There are a few for different pressures, 10-20 pounds (or 30 I can’t remember. Haven’t had a pressure canner in years)
I would be surprised if they called for a different weight.
Aweful tough to blow up a pressure cooker. If using jars no worries, if u use a type of bag, be sure it won’t plug the vent. Bags inflate in pressure cookers. Put a plate over the bag to prevent bit from plugging any vent.
The only thing I can see with using a pressure cooker is that the whole idea is raising the boiling point of the water above 212. I don’t know exactly how high 10psi would do that (I am sure I read it somewhere but I suffer for Sieve Syndrome ) Would it go a lot higher than 240 or 250 degrees?
I like the idea of being able to control the temps better. My oven sucks. The temps vary 30 to 50 degrees F either way in mine.
Id be tempted to use the jars only because I would worry the bags might not be able to handle the 240 temps well. Will they stay sealed or give off chemical crap? Im just guessing here though.
For excess moisture, you might try drying in the over at around 200-220 deg for a while before using the cooker.
Thanks for all the input OGs.
I gave it a go this AM. I went with the jar as most of you recommend. I forgot about pressure canning and had no exciting bangs or pops.
I liked the idea of the bags because I thought it would be more contact area, but as suggested by @anon32470837 I looked it up and they begin to break down at 170* so I wouldn’t recommend going that route.
My electric pressure cooker aka also known as an instant pot (the name takes on a whole new meaning. Lol) cooks at 12-13 psi and blow’s off at 15psi. So I figure it’s right in that sweet spot 230-240* and can’t go over 250*.
I only did a half batch of reikox’s recipe because that’s about what I had for ever clear. I used 4 grams of some pretty dry outdoor bud from a couple Summers ago. I heated the water up to a boil before putting the jar in and ran it for 40 minutes. It came out darker but it doesn’t smell burnt and had no condensation in the jar. It’s off to the freezer and I’ll start the process tomorrow and let you know how it works out.
I took a picture next to some undecarbed bud so you can see the color difference.
) Would it go a lot higher than 240 or 250 degrees?
