How to cook with hash: make delicious and effective edibles

Can you eat hash? Yes, you can. In fact, you can use hash in pretty much the same way as cannabis flowers to make medicated foods and beverages, known as edibles. 

Cooking with hash has been gaining traction because you can estimate the dosage more accurately than you can when cooking with flowers. Since hash is a homogeneous mixture, it spreads THC evenly throughout a dish. If you know the THC content of your hash, you will be able to easily determine the amount of THC per serving. 

Many prefer the flavor itself, as well — hash-infused dishes have a deep earthy flavor, in comparison to the grassy flavor that can come from full-plant edibles. 

Cooking with hash provides a unique way to enjoy a longer high. When you consume edibles – as opposed to smoking or vaping – the body breaks THC down into 11-hydroxy-THC, which is 2-3 times more potent than THC, and generally lasts 6-8 hours. The effects of smoking or vaping cannabis only lasts for around 1-2 hours.

It’s also a great alternative for anyone who doesn’t like to smoke cannabis — either due to medical reasons or personal preference. 

What is hash?

Hash is extracted from cannabis, specifically by removing the trichomes or resinous glands on the surface of the plant. This is done to create a solid block of the potent trichomes which contain concentrated amounts of THC and CBD, as well as other cannabinoids.

Hash can range from a putty-like texture to a dry, crumbly substance. It typically comes in a brick or a ball, and is usually brown or dark green, though it can also be gold in color.

For more on how to make your own hash, take a look at our step-by-step guide to making hash.

How is cooking with hash different from cooking with cannabis?

Even if you’re used to cooking with weed, it’s important to note that there are a few differences when it comes to cooking with hash.

Here are the key differences between cooking with hash and cooking with cannabis flowers:

How to decarb hash

Just like with the full cannabis plant, you need to decarboxylate hash before cooking with it. This is an essential step that activates the cannabinoids in the hash and makes them effective. 

When you smoke hash or cannabis, it’s the heat from the flame that converts THCA into THC, the molecule that gives cannabis its psychotropic effects. When you cook with hash, you need to deliver this heat first to activate the THC and other cannabinoids. This process is called decarboxylation.

There’s two different methods you can use to decarboxylate hash.

Method 1: toast

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Put the hash on a lined baking sheet.
3. Toast it in the oven for around 45 minutes to decarb.

Method 2: water bath

1. Take a double boiler or put a pyrex dish inside a saucepan with boiling water.
2. Boil the water to 250 degrees F, and keep checking with a thermometer to make sure the water does not rise above this temperature.
3. Put the hash in the pyrex bowl or the top of the double boiler and heat for around 30 minutes to decarb.

Once you have decarboxylated the hash using either method, you can infuse it into fat such as butter or oil, and then use this fat for cooking, or use the toasted hash itself. 

In both methods, it’s important not to exceed 250 degrees, because this can reduce the final THC content.

Alternatively, you can use a home decarboxylation machine, which can make the process even easier. 

What edibles can you make with hash?

You can make all kinds of edibles with hash, from drinks to desserts. Pretty much any edible you can make with weed, you can make with hash!

Here are some delicious hash edible ideas.

1. Hash butter

You can adapt this cannabutter recipe into a hash butter recipe. 

As hash has a stronger concentration of THC, you’ll need to adjust the amount of hash you use. High-quality hash, when decarboxylated, contains around 30% THC, compared to about 14% for cannabis. So you’ll need to cut the quantities in half for the same result.

Otherwise, the process is pretty much the same. As with cannabis, you need to decarboxylate your hash first. The only other key difference is that hash can cook more quickly than cannabis, so stick to the lower range of cooking times, and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t brown.

2. Hash tea

To make hash tea, you can follow any cannabis tea recipe, and simply substitute cannabutter or weed-infused oil with hash butter or hash oil. Take a look at our guide on making cannabis tea for detailed instructions. 

Alternatively, you can simply use decarboxylated hash and stir it directly into your tea.

3. Hash desserts

You can make delicious hash desserts by simply substituting cannabutter with hash butter. Check out these recipes for brownies and banana bread and put your hash butter to good use! 

Be aware that hash desserts may be stronger than the weed edibles you’re accustomed to. If in doubt, start with very small portions, see the effects you get from the hash edibles, then work your way up to larger doses if required.

4. Hash oil

Cannabis oil is highly versatile — not only can you use it in baking, but you can mix it into shakes, drizzle it over a salad, or use it for frying your steak or eggs. You can make hash oil in a similar way to cannabis oil, simply by substituting the cannabis with decarboxylated hash. 

Again, it’s important to keep in mind that hash is around twice as potent as cannabis and adjust the quantities accordingly.

If you make a hash recipe with little or no fat, remember that the THC needs some kind of fat or alcohol in order to metabolize properly. Therefore, if your hash dish is fat-free, you should eat it with another dish or drink that contains some kind of fat – this could be a glass of milk or a coffee with cream, for instance.

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