For edibles flower and other plant material, I use a 3 step process: 1. Decarb 2. Extract 3. Infuse
1. Decarb - 240f - 250f for 1 hour total time at temp in the oven. This should get me somewhere in the 90% conversion area, which is fine.
2. Extract - I take the decarbed weed and add hot water from the tap, which is usually around 110F or so, and let it steep as if it were tea or coffee. Just as it does for tea / coffee, the warm water extracts a lot of shit out of the plant material, making your end product cleaner and less "weedy" tasting and smelling, while not fucking with the thc content. I usually do 3 rinses at 30 mins apiece, or until I feel like the water is clear enough. The longer you soak it, the cleaner it will be, but remember not to waste any trichomes that fall to the bottom.
3. Infuse - Once the water comes out clear enough, I'll add my fat, be it coconut butter or clarified butter. I go with a typical 1/4 oz weed per 4 oz of fat ratio, so that's a 1/4 oz weed per stick of butter. I let this simmer for 3 hours on low heat (140f-160f) then cool it in a water bath, toss it in the fridge to cool, and then collect my product from the top of the water once it congeals.
This provides a product that's fucking great in recipes like banana bread, cookies, or even coffee's, and you will NOT taste or smell the weed in the edible.
Graphs:
1. Taschwer shows that a temp of 212f was almost at a 90% conversion rate within an hour, while 302f achieved a max reading within an hour.
2. U.S. patent application data shows they achieved the most efficient conversion rate for high thc strains at 248F for an hour.
Both demonstrate that lower temps between 212f-220f are also excellent for decarbing, however, they require a good 2 hours. The higher the heat, the faster the process, but it also increase thc-d9 degradation and cbn development. If you are looking for help sleeping, muscle aches and shit, then experiment with increasing your decarb time to convert more of the euphoric producing thc-d9 into the more sedative / couch-locky cbn.
Finally, start slow and build up. A strain that has 15% thc, by weight, using 1/4 oz per 4 oz of fat will produce a product that has close to 7.5mg of thc per gram of fat, which means a single fucking tablespoon will have about 106mg of thc....which will melt your face off if you're not used to it, and could make a lot of n00bs panic and call 911.
Have fun, but be careful out there.