sanitizing oak chips?

I would like to age my vanilla porter on oak chips. it has a bit of a sharp flavor that i think the oak might smooth out, plus i've been wanting to try them anyway. i've used the tea bag looking things full of chips for wine once, and i just steeped them for ten minutes before throwing them in the primary. but the porter is in the secondary, and i don't want to risk contaminating it, so how should i make sure the oak chips are sanitized?

I'd use one crushed campden tablet in a gallon of water. Add the chips and hop bag (If using), shake well, and soak for 20 minutes before use. Or you could boil them briefly but this may well extract some of the 'oakiness' you want.

Another option is to steam them in a vegetable steamer for a few minutes. This will also hydrate them without losing too much of that oaky goodness.

Or you could soak them in vodka?

Nuke them?

Just make oak chip tea. Boil em for 5 minutes, and throw it all in the fermenter.

I've successfully used oak chips by steaming them as mentioned above...10 minutes in a steamer and toss 'em in the secondary. Don't think they will remove any edge from your beer, though, as they contribute an oaky tannin flavor. They are, however, a nice complement to vanilla.

Steam them.