For more than 37 years, millions of Thanksgiving cooks have reached out to Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line® experts for tried and true holiday meal prep tips and advice.
On Thanksgiving, Butterball turkey experts will be available for 12 hours and expect to take about 10,000 calls.
The Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line® launched in 1981 with only six staffers. Today, more than 50 professionally trained turkey experts provide advice to more than three million cooks through the Turkey Talk-Line 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372), Butterball.com, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Live Chats and emails in the United States and Canada.
For the past 21 years, Butterball turkey expert Sue Smith has been one of those reassuring voices on the other end of the line. She said they get all types of calls, all ages, men and women, experts and amateurs.
"We get the first timers that are just so scared and nervous, they just got married and their mother-in-law is in town and they're calling from a closet because they don't want her to know that she has no idea how to cook this turkey," said Smith.
She said the number one question is about thawing.
"Right now, the day before Thanksgiving, you can thaw your turkey still. You're going to soak it in cold water. It's your quickest way to do it. You can still defrost it. It takes 30 minutes a pound, changing that water every 30 minutes," said Smith.
She said there's no question they can't tackle. For Smith, it's rewarding to help people.
Resources for getting advice and culinary inspiration in real-time (Text 844-877-3456, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Live Chats and Butterball Alexa Skill) during November and December and receive real-time suggestions and advice.