Getting ready to add cacao nibs to a secondary. Should I just throw em in or crush them and steep them first? I'll take all the details I can get?

I made a robust porter and used cocoa nibs in the secondary. All I did was soak the nibs in vodka in a small tupperware container. Enough vodka to cover the nibs and adjusted the next day for absorption. Mine sat and got happy for 2 days and I just dumped them in the secondary prior to racking. I know every brewer has a different method. This was mine and it worked out well. Also I have read but never tried that you can boil nibbs much like hops but you will have to adjust your hops because the nibs will bitter the wort. Again I was unsure about this so I decided to go with the secondary "dry nib" method

j, have you tried the just throw in secondary method? I'm still waiting to hear others success storys before I try?

I haven't tried that. I'm big on sanitation. I'd hate to have my beer infected. I'v only used nibs once but I'v aplied the same method with other 2ndary projects. Like vanilla beans I split and scraped and let soak in Red Breast before adding it to my South London Ale. I'v also read about a quick boil then toss them in. I think they call it the "tea" method (I'm not 100% sure) but it's to my understanding the alcohol really draws out and suspends those flavors "oils". Good luck!

Thanks everybody! I've read alot about soaking oak chips in bourbon and whiskeys. I like those ideas because I don't want to bitter this porter any more than I have with the hops. I want to try the toss in method later. Keep the ideas coming! I'll post my findings!

Hurry up and get those nibs in that brew. I'm thirsty!! On a real note I like the Vodka idea to sanitize. Shall I bring you a shot or two monday??

T.G. Bring 4 shots. I'll use 2 on the nibs. And 2 for me. On the serious note, sure!

I just spread them thin on a fine mesh strainer and steamed them for 20-30 min them dump in the 2ndary.

I made Jamil's chocolate hazelnut porter a week or so ago. The recipes said to add the cocoa nibs during the last few minutes of the boil....The keggle that i used to boil this in did not have a valve on bottom and i used an auto siphon to TRY to get this brew into the fermemter....didn't work all the nibs did was clog the auto siphon and i wound up pouring the beer into the fermenter at a loss of wort onto the garage floor...maybe the secondary is best with the nibs...they didn't seem to dissolve in the boil. In hindsight maybe i should have crushed them before adding?

Sorry I have not got back to spell out what I did.. I would like to thank all involved for the input.
I used a little advice from all: I crushed the nibs up with a morter and pestal. Put them in a hop sack tied off with about 2 feet if string. Steamed that for about 20 minutes. I then soaked bag, string, and nibs in vodka overnight. I racked my beer into the secondary and lowered the bag in and tied off with the string. After 10 days I bottled and now we have a beer that is awesome.

MOST EXCELLENT!

It's too bad other folks don't report (often enuf) their success or even failure with advice taken!