Shatter is an efficient method of storing concentrated cannabinoids. It is made by dissolving marijuana into a solvent, such as butane. This makes a more potent concentrate than hashish or buds. The resulting yellow substance is called honey oil.

To use shatter for vaping and edibles, you have to decarboxylate it, often referred to as decarbing. Here we will cover four methods to decarb shatter at home. We recommend that you wear protective gloves. We assume you have the shatter in a glass vial. Here’s the video of the processes, followed by a breakdown of instructions for each method. Proceed at your own risk.

This guide is based on a video at HowToWeed. Below is the video guide and keep reading on for the written instructions.

Method 1: Stovetop, decarb shatter in pan

decarb shatter pan

Get a medium-sized saucepan or other cooking pot and out it on the stove. Add some cooking poil to about a half inch of depth. Heat it to 250° F. Place the vial of shatter in the pot. The shatter will melt and bubble. Wait for the bubbles to stop forming. You should have a clear golden liquid when done.

Decarbed shatter using saucepan method
The jar of shatter goes in the hot water to decarb.

Method 2: Using your toaster oven to decarb

Heating shatter using toaster oven.

Place your shatter container in the toaster oven on a stable surface. Set the oven to bake at 250° F. It will melt and begin to make fizzy bubbles. Wait for the bubbles to stop forming. This means it’s done. This method takes about 50 minutes. However, don’t fret over our exact times, as yours may vary.

Decarbed shatter vial showing clear amber liquid
Check out that nice decarbed shatter.

Method 3: Crock Pot, slow cooker shatter decarb

decarbing shatter in a crock pot

Take a counter-top crock pot and add cooking oil to it, to about a half-inch depth. Heat the crockpot to 250° F. Place the shatter vial in the middle of the pot and wait. The shatter will melt and bubble. Once again, we wait for the bubbling to stop to know the shatter’s done. This method takes 80 minutes by our estimate.

Decarbed shatter removed from crockpot.

Method 4: Hot Plate, simple but most don’t have these at home

decarb shatter on a hot plate

Heat the hotplate to 250° F. Place the vial of shatter on the hotplate directly. Place a larger beaker over the vial. The shatter will begin to melt and bubble. Stop the process momentarily and scrape the inside of the vial, making sure to push all solid matter together down into the bottom section of the vial. Restart the process and wait for bubbles to stop forming. Continue heating until pure liquid.

Scraping shatter from sides of vial to ensure that it decarbs evenly
Get every last bit for maximum efficiency.

Why would you want to decarb shatter?

The point of decarbing shatter is that shatter is largely composed of THC-A. This is the acid form of THC, which is not psychoactive. Decarbing it returns it to its regular THC state.

Concluding our guide on decarbing shatter

Hopefully you have the hang of managing your shatter at home using these simple methods. Decarbed shatter is used in both edibles and in making THC vape juice. You can check out HowToWeed’s channel here.

Have questions on how to decarb shatter? Comment below or in our forum!

21 COMMENTS

  1. my shatter barely bubbles .is it cus heatwas used making it and could i be decaarbing it too long losing potency ?Did some whote runts at 250 degrees 35 mins about and its not as strong as bluberry i did in a shot glass my first time I have these exact containers now but seems like its working less in my toaster oven.any ideas?

  2. There are so many incorrect statements in this article that I would advise those who browse to go somewhere else before decarbing. What is said here will work – sort of – but many of the supporting statements are wrong and indicate an overall ignorance of the science behind what is being described. It would be pointless to go through each of them here. But I will correct one of the responses to a comment. To the person asking about the olive oil decarb: do not throw it away. I can’t believe the jackass who thought it might be the best ‘solution’. Olive oil is used extensively in cooking. I has a smoke point of around 375F. Use it to bake whatever you want below that temperature. In fact, you may not even find it necessary to decarb if you intend to bake. You decarb for things like gummies since no heat is involved in the recipe.

    And BTW, the ‘natural state’ of THC is not the decarbed state. You get a buzz when you smoke it only because the heat from burning it does an on-the-fly decarb.

  3. I mixed my shatter with olive oil before I decarbed it and I don’t think it worked. I mixed it into marshmallow fluff and made rice krispy treats. Can I rebake them and still turn THC-a into THC or us it too late?

  4. Thank you very much for all the wonderful information this will be my first time trying this and I hope it turns out for I consume a lot of edibles my lungs are too old smoke too many cigarettes

  5. Just wondering, does the size of jar matter? I have a glass cup size mason jar that I use to melt and infuse coconut oil with reclaim, could I use this same jar to decarb the wax?

    • Saw a video on YouTube of a guy doing exactly that as Silicone can withstand the heat necessary to decarbonated your concentrate and then some.

  6. I left some accidentally on top of my xbox inside the glass container it came in with the lid off after about 3 hours I grabbed it and it was bubbling. So i guess my question is do you have to get it to 250° or will getting it over the boiling point be enough. I was just curious if I could just leave it on the xbox unroll it quit

    • We cannot speak with authority upon the efficacy of an XBox for heating shatter. Somehow that experiment hasn’t come up yet. It’s probably doubtful that it sustained 250° degrees though, and that’s the recommended temperature.

      I’d avoid setting concentrates on the XBox in the future, if for nothing else than to avoid a sticky incident affecting the XBox.

  7. Can I do this inside corn syrup in a mason jar put corn syrup and the concentrate and turn it up to 250 is this fine ?

  8. Do I put the shatter on wax paper or parchment paper before I put it in the oven to decarb it Or do I put the shadow directly on a Pan. Seems like it be very difficult to get off if it’s not on a piece of white paper and directly on a pan. Sorry this is my 1st time doing this so I don’t wanna mess it up. And now it’s probably a stupid question

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