Dear Scott,
         In answer to your question about using microwave for cleaning
shells...it works great as long as you either 1)not married or have an
extremely understanding wife or 2) you have a spare microwave that you never
want to use for cooking again!  It does clean {pop out the animal} very good,
especially if the shell is still fresh and hasn't been sitting around drying
out.  The best way to do it, is to put the shell in a zip-lock bag with as
much of the air pushed out as possible or put the shell in a paper bag...this
keeps the animal from exploding all over your microwave...however, nothing
that I have found keeps the odor from stinking up the microwave [or the house,
if you try it indoors!...which is the reason for item #1!
Sincerely,
Ed Schelling