How long to boil oak chips

Hello. I'm a new brewer with a flavor for oak. I purchased some toasted oak chips and would like to add them to my IPA during the secondary fermentation. As I'm not sure how it will come out, I'm only adding a few chips (maybe 1 oz to 5 gallons). I've read that I should boil them before placing them in, and I'm wondering -- since it is wood which is hard to sanitize, how long would you suggest I boil them?

i used 2 oz of oak chips in my secondary for a stout i did, i really liked the results. dont boil them however, it will release tannins. i steamed mine for about 20 min and then put them in the secondary and racked the beer onto them.

Thanks for the tip.

A lot of people just soak then for a couple of days in Bourbon. The booze will sanitize the chips, and you can dump the whole thing in the secondary for that bourbon barrel oak flavor.

Thanks for the bourbon tip. I'm currently listening to one of Jamil's shows on using oak chips. He said that the higher alcohol beverages likely kill anything on the wood chips. He also suggests pressure cooking or boiling, although, if I've heard him properly... he did say that he had previously just thrown in some chips and it turned out ok...? He laso suggested putting the chips/cubes in during the kegging.

Revvy said:

A lot of people just soak then for a couple of days in Bourbon. The booze will sanitize the chips, and you can dump the whole thing in the secondary for that bourbon barrel oak flavor.

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never thought of that, i love some makers mark.

I soaked mine for 20 minutes in bourbon and the beer turned out fantastic.

I have just poured enough boiling water in a cup to cover the chips and let it sit for a while, then dump the whole thing in a carboy.