How to Whip Shatter to Crumble
Full instructions below.
Do you remember the saying, “if it shatter, it don’t matter”? Well nowadays that’s just not true. There are so many types and consistencies of cannabis extracts. They have come such a long way since shatter was highly sought after, such that a lot matters now. I personally do not look for shatter when I shop at a dispensary. Mainly because a lot of companies use trimmings or just because shatter usually has minimal flavor and breaking it apart can sometimes be a pain. I myself tend to look for live resins and rosins but when on a budget, cured batters or just regular badders work fine (I usually try to go for MPX cured resins when on a budget).
It also seems now shatters everywhere are at a lesser price point and are a more affordable option. Don’t get me wrong, all shatters are not bad, just not my favorite. If you find yourself on a budget and can only afford shatter or maybe there is a bulk deal on shatter (as I do see pretty often in local dispensaries) but don’t like shatter as I don’t, there is a way to turn your shatter into a badder or crumble. I find this process simple and fun to play around with. It also seems the majority of the time, this process not only changes the consistency of the concentrate but actually improves its overall quality, making for a better smelling, looking and tasting dab. We actually made a short fun video here of the process highlighting the beginning and end result but now I want to just tell you how to do this fun simple process and change your shatter into something else.
So, what I like to use for this process is a larger silicone dab container (about 3 inches), a dab tool, and a heat source. My usual heat source is a hot plate that slowly heats my concentrate to about 100 degrees, but this process is a bit slower and takes longer so I’m going to explain the method used in our video on The Cannabis Cactus website. The container is used to hold the wax inside and silicone is recommended because of the high heats it can withstand. The heat source is used to melt down the wax inside the silicone container and the dab tool is to stir and manipulate the melted concentrate in a whipping motion.
The process seems simple enough and can be done quickly, so once you get all these supplies it’s just a matter of the details now. First turn your heat source on. For the video, we used a smaller conventional oven at about 150 – 175 degrees and the whole process took a total of about 2 hours. Once your oven is to your desired temperature, it’s time to get the shatter in the container.
Since shatter can come in slabs that might be larger than the container, you may need to break the shatter up to fit it in the container as we did in the video. Once the shatter is in the container, go ahead and throw it in the oven or apply your heat in whatever desired method you choose to experiment with. It is important to keep the temperature kind of low while heating. I personally don’t go over 175 degrees, as I feel it dries up faster and loses terpenes.
Once the container is in the oven, it’s just a waiting game. Open it up every so often and check it, once it’s completely melted and there are no solid chunks of shatter, it’s time to start whipping. With the dab tool of your choice begin to whip around the concentrate like your mixing ingredients for a dish. At this point it should be almost saucy and very easy to move around. As you are doing this, you should notice the color starting to change, hopefully to a lighter shade.
Once you do that, go ahead, reapply the heat and wait some more. After waiting a little while, go ahead and check it again, stir it some more. This time it should be a little thicker and harder to stir and more opaque in color. You might even be able to take it out and pull and stretch by hand if it’s a taffy consistency. If it is like taffy, harder to stir but more workable and moldable, this should be your last whip. After the final whip, you’re almost done, all you need to do is throw it back in the heat for a bit longer and wait on the end result.
I usually lower the heat a bit on the final warm up. I’m not sure if it really makes a difference, but I like to do it just a method I find works for me. In the video, the final heat was about 120 degrees and left it in for about 20 to 30 minutes. The whole process took between 2 to 2 and a half hours, so I’d say about 45 minutes each heat up with about 10 to 15 minutes of whipping and 20 to 30 minutes on the final heat with no whipping to get the end result pictured.
With this process and time frame I was able to turn about a quarter ounce of shatter into a quarter ounce of cake batter. This time, the flavor really did not improve, it just stayed the same with a different color and consistency. If you haven’t checked it out, I suggest you go on our IG page @cannabiscactus or website cannabiscactus.com and check out the video to see the massive glob I took after the whip. I hope this helped you or at the very least caught your attention and the next time you have some shatter, even a gram, go ahead and give it a try. DM me @tookkie_terpenestein and show me what you got.
Shatter to Crumble – Just the Instructions
Break shatter into smaller pieces and place in heat proof container
Place in 150-170° oven for 40-50 minutes
Once completely melted, take out and whip for 5-6 minutes
Place back in oven for about 40-50 minutes
Take out and whip again, notice the taffy like texture
Lower heat a little bit and place in the oven again
Take out and let cool