Decarb with an Instant Pot pressure cooker

[PhilShifley]

I like to have some cannacoconut oil before I go to bed because it helps me sleep through the night. Consequently, I need to decarb a bunch of Cannabis from time to time and I have tried many different methods. I've used a toaster oven and I've used a Sous Vide device but lately I have been experimenting with an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. When it is set to High (how appropriate), the internal temp is supposed to be in that 230F - 240F range. This is the ideal temp for decarbing, so I needed to figure a way to use it to decarb my weed without ruining it. Thus far I have only done two batches, so this is basically a progress report. I didn't leave the first batch in long enough. It spent maybe 10 minutes in the Instant Pot pressure cooker which may not have been enough time, and then I didn't leave it in the Keep Warm mode very long either. It worked but not nearly as well as I had hoped. The other day I did a second batch and I did it differently. I put the little metal rack that comes with the Instant Pot on the bottom and added a couple of pints of water. I bought from Amazon a two level vegetable cooker that was designed to go in a pressure cooker, and a put a full ounce of bagged weed into the top container. This is a sealed metal container and NOT a steamer. I set the IP for High and set the timer for 15 minutes. I had the Keep Warm setting on. When the weed finished cooking under pressure, I let it stay in the IP for an additional hour. Most of this cool down time is still under pressure, so I am guessing the weed was still experiencing temps of 220F or more during the cool down period. By the time I took the weed out it had been in there for close to an hour and a half. I am in a legal Adult-use state but I don't live near any testing labs so I don't have scientific data yet to tell me if my experiments are working. But I did sample some of this new batch the past two nights and I'd say it was pretty darn potent. I'll add more details as my experiments continue. Feel free to ask questions. Or better yet, feel free to add results of your own experiments of decarbing with a pressure cooker.

 

[blustarhi]

Phil - Did the process cause the silicone gasket to smell of cannabis like what normally happens when food is cooked in the IP?

 

[CurryLeafTreehugger]

This is my one disappointment - I can get a red gasket (for curries, Indian, Thai, Korean, etc); a blue gasket (for "normal" food that doesn't generate a strong aroma) and a white gasket (for deserts and delicately flavored foods).

BUT WHERE is my GREEN gasket, for processing herb?????

 

[PhilShifley]

I've decarbed a few more ounces since that first post and, so far, I am liking this new method that I am developing. I just wish I lived nearer to a Cannabis testing facility so I could get specific results. There is a lab about an hour and a half drive away, and one of these days I will make that drive. The last batch I decarbed was in the Instant Pot under pressure for 45 minutes. and then I left it in the Keep Warm mode for another hour.

Let me answer your questions. I can tell by the nature of the questions that you two already own an Instant Pot. Congratulations on your wise purchase. Since the weed is in a Zip-Loc Freezer bag inside a Seal-A-Meal bag, inside the metal vegetable cooker and held above the water level, it doesn't really seem to release odors outside the IP at all let alone odors that will permanently affect the silicone gasket. Let's keep experimenting until we get this thing right.

 

[stockman]

hello. i joined this site just for this thread. i just ordered a instant pot mini. can you tell me the model you are using and provide a link the the in pot pan your are using. thank you very much.

 

[BabyFacedFinster]

hello. i joined this site just for this thread. i just ordered a instant pot mini. can you tell me the model you are using and provide a link the the in pot pan your are using. thank you very much.

Hey @stockman

Just wanted to welcome you to this site. Feel free to cruise the FC for lots of great info and supportive folks. I don't remember much in the way of using an instant pot, but there are a lot of threads on various methods for decarbing here. The instant pot looks like a great cooking tool even if you don't end up decarbing in it (but it looks like it would be good for that too once you get the hang of it).

 

[sickmanfraud]

Since there is a lot of material on the web (some backed up with test results you can see) about decarb, why experiment with this method which took about the same time (with the keep warm) as an oven decarb??

240 F for 40 minutes has been tested, results available in this thread (there is an index). https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/another-tincture-thread-try-it-youll-like-it.1102315/

 

[PhilShifley]

hello. i joined this site just for this thread. i just ordered a instant pot mini. can you tell me the model you are using and provide a link the the in pot pan your are using. thank you very much.

Welcome aboard, stockman.

I actually have 2 Instant Pots. My original and old standby is Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker. My newest one is an Instant Pot Ultra 6 Qt 10-in-1 Multi- Use Programmable Pressure Cooker. I bought them both off of Amazon.

 

[PhilShifley]

Sickmanfraud - I have an answer for you and it is simple. I don't trust regular ovens or toaster ovens to maintain an even 240 degree temperature. If you set the temp to 240 degrees in a conventional oven - electric or gas - it can fluctuate plus or minus 20 degrees or more and easily harm your product during the decarb. Whereas, an electric pressure cooker cannot possibly go over 240 degrees (Laws of Physics). Therefore is safe to use on expensive Cannabis without fear of overheating it and damaging it. I am working on developing a safe and easy way to decarb an ounce or more at at time because some of us need large quantities of cannacoconut oil to get a good night's sleep.

 

[lazylightning]

I decarb in a small toaster oven with a window. I check the temp through the window with an infrared thermometer a few times during the 25-minute 250* decarb cycle and it never varies more than a few degrees.

 

[sickmanfraud]

I decarb in a small toaster oven with a window. I check the temp through the window with an infrared thermometer a few times during the 25-minute 250* decarb cycle and it never varies more than a few degrees.

As I said in post # 7 *(above) 240 for 40 minutes was the optimal decarb.

 

[lazylightning]

As I said in post # 7 *(above) 240 for 40 minutes was the optimal decarb.

I spent about 10 minutes trying to find any actual decarb info from the link you provided but didn't see it. Maybe you have a direct link to the relevant info? I base my decarb schedule off the chart posted on Skunk Pharm Research.

 

[CurryLeafTreehugger]

Since there is a lot of material on the web (some backed up with test results you can see) about decarb, why experiment with this method which took about the same time (with the keep warm) as an oven decarb??

240 F for 40 minutes has been tested, results available in this thread (there is an index). https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/another-tincture-thread-try-it-youll-like-it.1102315/

Dude, I'm pushing 60, and as far as functionality, you might as well add 20 years to that. EG I can no longer trust myself to use an oven or even the stove top. After I burned things in the oven THREE TIMES in a week and after the third time I forgot I had a pot on the stove, I unplugged my oven. I now have an induction hob with a timer and an auto-shutoff in case of overheating; an Instant Pot; an air fryer; a Zojirushi micom rice cooker (in which I can successfully cook as little as 3/8c of rice for a perfectly measured portion - cuz diabetes); and a Zo breadmaker. Everything I own is now on a timer and/or has an autoshutoff should I forget to turn the timer on (eg the induction hob).

THAT is why I want to do this in an Instant pot, where it will require no intervention, no checking, no requirement for me to remember I even turned it on. I just program it and let it go. That is also why I need EXACT directions. Cognitive deficits suck.

 

[CurryLeafTreehugger]

Sickmanfraud - I have an answer for you and it is simple. I don't trust regular ovens or toaster ovens to maintain an even 240 degree temperature. If you set the temp to 240 degrees in a conventional oven - electric or gas - it can fluctuate plus or minus 20 degrees or more and easily harm your product during the decarb. Whereas, an electric pressure cooker cannot possibly go over 240 degrees (Laws of Physics). Therefore is safe to use on expensive Cannabis without fear of overheating it and damaging it. I am working on developing a safe and easy way to decarb an ounce or more at at time because some of us need large quantities of cannacoconut oil to get a good night's sleep.

Hey Phil - what elevation are you at? Because that affects the ultimate possible temperature under pressure - by reducing the amount of pressure you can actually build up. With most things this just means you cook it for longer at the lower pressure and thus lower temps - but for actual decarbing, that won't work if you are at a high enough elevation that you can't reach 240F because you're highest possible pressure has been reduced.

I'm at 5200' which is high enough that I doubt I can achieve 240F at all. But since I'm working with ABV I can pretty much count on the ABV already being decarbed. What I want is a "recipe" for making the cannaoil and I had better use something other than coconut oil for that given that I'm apparently allergic to coconut.

Also if the Instant Pot can help me "mechanize" the water cure as much as possible that would be great. Because I don't use the stove or oven at all any more.

 

[CurryLeafTreehugger]

hello. i joined this site just for this thread. i just ordered a instant pot mini. can you tell me the model you are using and provide a link the the in pot pan your are using. thank you very much.

The Instant Pot mini (3 qt) doesn't have accessories. Sadly. But I'm sure there's a way to make it work anyway.

 

[Concupiscient]

Sous vide method mentioned earlier.

What was your experience with it?

 

[Cmansfield7815]

Any updates? Very interested in trying this technique

 

[tokinginger]

Is it possible to do this without the veggie cooker? I don't have one and I can't really afford more instant pot accessories right now. Also, does it have to be vacuum sealed? I don't have access to one of those either.

 

[Concupiscient]

Anyone else have success with this method?

I like the initial research reports by Phil - but not yet ready to get a pot. (Saw a refurbed one at a local discount store).

 

[tokinginger]

Anyone else have success with this method?

I like the initial research reports by Phil - but not yet ready to get a pot. (Saw a refurbed one at a local discount store).

I tried a method posted in another thread. You use pint canning jars instead. It works great. You decarb for 40 minutes with a quick release and you cook with butter or oil for 20 minutes and let it release pressure naturally over 40 minutes.

 

[EdibleNewbie]

I tried a method posted in another thread. You use pint canning jars instead. It works great. You decarb for 40 minutes with a quick release and you cook with butter or oil for 20 minutes and let it release pressure naturally over 40 minutes.

My pint jar keeps tipping over on its side because its floating in the water. Help!!!

 

[tokinginger]

My pint jar keeps tipping over on its side because its floating in the water. Help!!!

It's ok if that happens. Water won't get in as long as the lid is right. Are you using a trivet? You should be. The one that comes with the instant pot works perfectly.

 

[EdibleNewbie]

Duhhhh . . . Thank you so much. Now it's perfect!!

 

[tokinginger]

Duhhhh . . . Thank you so much. Now it's perfect!!

Yeah, you never want canning jars right on the heat source. They can crack.

 

[lyttlefish]

I am excited to try making the canna oil in my instant pot..however..can you tell me your recipe..i mean..how much coconut oil to weed? Also, is this mixture what you put in the little stainless steel container you got from Amazon?
thanks for the assist
<')))><

I like to have some cannacoconut oil before I go to bed because it helps me sleep through the night. Consequently, I need to decarb a bunch of Cannabis from time to time and I have tried many different methods. I've used a toaster oven and I've used a Sous Vide device but lately I have been experimenting with an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. When it is set to High (how appropriate), the internal temp is supposed to be in that 230F - 240F range. This is the ideal temp for decarbing, so I needed to figure a way to use it to decarb my weed without ruining it. Thus far I have only done two batches, so this is basically a progress report. I didn't leave the first batch in long enough. It spent maybe 10 minutes in the Instant Pot pressure cooker which may not have been enough time, and then I didn't leave it in the Keep Warm mode very long either. It worked but not nearly as well as I had hoped. The other day I did a second batch and I did it differently. I put the little metal rack that comes with the Instant Pot on the bottom and added a couple of pints of water. I bought from Amazon a two level vegetable cooker that was designed to go in a pressure cooker, and a put a full ounce of bagged weed into the top container. This is a sealed metal container and NOT a steamer. I set the IP for High and set the timer for 15 minutes. I had the Keep Warm setting on. When the weed finished cooking under pressure, I let it stay in the IP for an additional hour. Most of this cool down time is still under pressure, so I am guessing the weed was still experiencing temps of 220F or more during the cool down period. By the time I took the weed out it had been in there for close to an hour and a half. I am in a legal Adult-use state but I don't live near any testing labs so I don't have scientific data yet to tell me if my experiments are working. But I did sample some of this new batch the past two nights and I'd say it was pretty darn potent. I'll add more details as my experiments continue. Feel free to ask questions. Or better yet, feel free to add results of your own experiments of decarbing with a pressure cooker.