Thank you for the advice, and since you have experience, could I share my recipe I'm thinking of and get your thoughts. I have pecans in primary and secondary, de-oiled, so to speak. Other than possible leaving the oil in the brew, what are your thoughts? On a side-note, is the added tannin necessary?
Cinnamon Pecan Mead – 5 gallon batch
Ingredients
12 + 3 lbs Clover Honey
17-18 qt. Water
5 tbsp. Acid Blend
2.5 tsp Pectic Enzyme
5/16 tsp Tannin
3.75 tsp Energizer
5 Campden, crushed
5 + 2 lbs Shelled Pecans
5 Cinnamon Sticks
1 pk. Yeast
Directions
1. Toast pecans at 300F for 10 minutes in a single layer, then pour into a paper towel lined paper bag to sit out till cool, getting some of the oils out of them. Roll and squish the paper bag, and you should see greasy spots on the bag.
2. Smash roasted Pecans (meat mallet) to break them up a bit (halves to quarters), and roast about 10 minutes at 400F till slightly smoking. Pour into another paper towel lined paper bag, roll and squish trying to get more oil out and let rest till cool.
3. Smash roasted Pecans to break them up and roast Pecans at 350F for about 10 minutes, again, just until slightly smoking. Repeat the rolling and squishing in a new paper bag to get MORE oil out!
4. Dissolve 12 lbs. honey in 2 gallons of warm water with acid and tannin.
5. Simmer 5 lbs. toasted pecans and cinnamon sticks in honey water for 30 minutes.
6. Allow to cool to room temp. (Spoon out any oils that rise)
7. Strain out solids into nylon straining bag, weighted with marbles. Add to primary.
8. Pour remaining liquid in primary. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for yeast.
9. After 24 hours add yeast.
10. When S.G. reaches 1.030, add 3 lbs. honey and 2 lbs. toast pecans (in marble weighted straining bag) to secondary, and siphon primary into secondary.
11. When S.G. has dropped to <1.000, siphon off sediment into clean secondary.
12. Siphon off sediment every 2 months for clearing.