Lobsters not fast food, so don't race them.

Byline: FOOD DUDE By Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

I've been told I'm wrong before, but with my last column on liquor prices in Oregon and California, I may have set a new personal record for negative feedback.

"Mea culpa," says the Food Dude. "Smart shoppers buy their booze in the Golden State."

That will teach me to write about things I know nothing about. I'll stick to the stuff I know almost nothing about.

Like lobsters.

To see a sampling of letters about liquor, go to www .registerguard.com/fooddude and click on the "Front Burner" category. You can also send questions to the Food Dude or tell me what to do with the leftover shallots in the bottom of my refrigerator.

Dear Food Dude: I'm thinking of having some friends over for lobsters. After we race them on the kitchen floor, what's next? Should I boil them? How do I get the meat out?

- Chris T.

Dear Chris: Nat Erickson, the kitchen manager at the Fisherman's Market on West Seventh Avenue, recommends boiling for first-timers such as you. You can also steam, poach or grill lobsters.

Erickson doesn't think those lobsters will be doing much racing, though, unless you light a fire beneath their claws.

"Maybe putting them in salt water and betting on them fighting would be more exciting," he suggests.

While you're fighting/racing your lobsters, bring a big pot of heavily salted water (it should taste like seawater, Erickson says) to a rolling boil. Then wipe the kitchen floor dust bunnies off your lobsters and place those suckers in the boiling water.

If you're the kind of person who has a hard time killing insects, you might want to walk away at this point. Those lethargic lobsters will suddenly come alive as they enter the 212-degree water and may try to claw their way out of the pot. The sound you hear is not screaming, but vented steam escaping from the lobster's shell and flesh.

A 1 1/4 - to 1 1/2 -pound lobster should cook for approximately 12 to 15 minutes. If you're unsure, a thermometer inserted into the crease between the tail and abdomen should read 145 degrees, Erickson says.

You can cook multiple lobsters in the same pot as long as the water stays boiling.

When you've cooked your lobsters and cooled them a bit, you can go to work on finding the meat. Erickson recommends snapping off the front claws and setting them aside. Then grab the torso and bend it backward at the base of the tail and abdomen, snapping the back of the lobster.

Unless you know what you're eating, everything in the body is throwaway meat, Erickson says.

The rest of the meat is in the tail, and you can get to it by bending the tail backward at the joint in the same manner you snapped the main body. Then, you can push the meat out the tail with your finger.

Lobster crackers can be used to break open the claws. You can also suck the meat out of the small legs, Erickson says. Serve with drawn butter, garlic butter and lemon wedges.

The Fisherman's Market sells Maine lobsters for $16.99 and $19.99 a pound, depending on size. If you're feeling lazy, they also serve cooked lobster dinners for $22.99.

In choosing lobsters, Erickson says you should make sure the creatures are alive since pathogenic organisms can contaminate the flesh within hours of death. Make sure the lobster has all of its appendages and isn't floating funny.

And if you're hell bent on racing your food across the kitchen floor before you eat it, you might try crawfish instead since they are more likely to scramble.

The Fisherman's Market sells Oregon crawfish from Lake Billy Chinook for $4.99 a pound.

"They're tiny, it's a lot of work, more of a group activity," Erickson says. "You don't really bother with the claws, you just kind of snap 'em in half and suck the juice out of their heads."

Dear Food Dude: I have a seafood recipe that calls for sea salt. What is the difference between it and regular table salt?

According to Prevention Magazine, "Dash for dash, sea salt and regular salt have about the same amount of sodium," so why should I make the trip to the grocery store for another pantry item that I'll use only for an occasional recipe when I have good old table salt on hand?

- Salty Old Sam

Dear Sam: Sea salts, which are harvested from seawater instead of mined from inland salt deposits, can vary widely in terms of flavor and degree of saltiness.

Salts range from fine to coarse grained, and even though that table salt is serving you well, you might find something you like better after exploring the wonderful world of salt.

"I don't think most people realize where the sparkle in food comes from," says Nonie Fish, former Register-Guard restaurant reviewer. "Salt brings out the flavor."

Fish, who was famously finicky about the salt content of foods in her restaurant reviews, keeps a half-dozen salts including Japanese, French, Sicilian and American varieties in her pantry.

Fish uses both kosher salts and sea salts for cooking and finishing foods. Her standby sea salt is Maldon, a British brand known for its delicate triangular crystals. She uses Morton's and Diamond Krystal kosher salt.

Fish says table salt contains anti-clumping ingredients, iodine and other chemicals that can impart a bitter taste on foods. She recommends tasting several different salts alongside one another to determine your own personal favorites, and promises you will be able to tell the difference.

Fish says Newman's Fish Company and Market of Choice both offer fine selections of salt.

Corey Lee, the chef de cuisines at French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., was recently interviewed about his salt preferences in the Wall Street Journal.

Lee pairs sea salts from Portugal, Hawaii and other locations with different menu items. He recommends storing salt in air-tight containers to keep it from getting too dry.

Lee doesn't use salt grinders because, he says, they don't allow enough control over the texture. He prefers a mortar and pestle.

Send your questions about food via e-mail to [e-mail]. Or, send mail to Food Dude, The Register Guard, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2168.