At the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line located right here in Naperville experts are on hand to answer any question you might have about preparing your holiday turkey.
“We get those types of calls like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s still frozen.’ You know, kind of hectic, kind of stressed, but that’s what we’re here for,” said Sue Smith, co-director of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line.
They’re trained at the school of turkey – Butterball University. There the experts learn hands on to roast turkey eight different ways.
“So that when we start talking turkey we’ve seen it. We’ve done it. We can really give the information,” said Carol Miller, a Butterball Turkey Talk-Line supervisor.
Miller has been with the talk-line for 33 years, and she says thawing is the number one question from callers.
“You need to allow enough time if you’re going to thaw in the refrigerator – one day for every four pounds. If you’ve procrastinated, don’t worry. You can thaw it in hours in cold water, and we’ve got those directions,” Miller said.
But sometimes she says the experts have to go off-book like when one family wanted to know how to speed up cooking because their oven wouldn’t stay on when they left the kitchen.
“They thought it was the oven’s problem,” Miller said. “They went in for the last time and found it was the labradoodle who was shutting off the oven as he was walking by, so I said get the dog out of the kitchen, turn the oven up 25 degrees and turkey will get to the table.”
And as long as the turkey gets to the table, these experts say the holiday is a success.
“It doesn’t have to be Pinterest perfect. If you’re with your loved ones, it’s going to be a great day,” said Beth Somers, a Butterball turkey expert.
If you need help with your holiday turkey you can reach the Turkey Talk-Line at 1-800-288-8372 through December 24.
Naperville News 17’s Beth Bria reports.
