Best way to incorporate canned pumpkin into ale?

I'm using extract and specialty grain. Recipes I have say to steep pumpkin and specialty grain for 45 minutes in 155 then bring to boil and remove. I thought you weren't supposed to boil grain because of the tannins? Should I just steep both like you normally would and then remove, sparge, and boil?

Also I thought I read about someone just adding canned pumpkin to the secondary fermenter. Anyone have any thoughts on just doing this and not incorporating heat at all (to the pumpkin)?

You will have an ungodly mess if you put pumpkin in the fermenter. Go ahead and steep it, but don't bring it or the grains to a boil.

It's best to mash it. Check out my sig for partial mash brewing...it's an easy step to mash things that would otherwise limit your brewing.