With recommendations from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the governor to keep holiday gatherings confined to immediate family, Thanksgiving for many will look a lot different this year. One thing that will remain the same are Butterball specialists, who are working from home for the first time ever, manning the Turkey Talk Line to help community members with their Thanksgiving meal.
This year they expect many questions from cooks new to tackling a turkey dinner.
Butterball’s Thanksgiving Advice
“If it’s your first time making a turkey but the turkey and if it’s frozen get it thawed,” said Butterball Turkey Talk-Line Supervisor Mary Alice Coffey. “That seems to be the number one question we have year after year ‘how do you thaw it?’ It takes one day full day to thaw turkey for every four pounds.”
Butterball expects turkey sizes to be smaller compared to other years as gatherings are expected to be smaller. However if you’re going big, Coffey said you can expedite the thawing process by placing the turkey in cool water and changing the water every 30 minutes, which will save you about half the time.
Other Advice
“I would say the second most important thing is to have a good working meat thermometer,” said Coffey. “You don’t want one that’s been banging around in your drawer for five to six years. [You want one] that really works.”
According to Butterball you’ll want the thigh of the turkey at 180°F the breast at 170°F, and the stuffing at 165°F.
Ways To Contact Butterball
On Thanksgiving Day Butterball averages over 15,000 calls, and that number is expected to be even higher this year. They also have an online chat for community members and tutorial videos to help community members celebrate the perfect Thanksgiving.
That help is here for the whole holiday season – you can call the Turkey Talk Line through December at 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372).
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
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