The Butterball Turkey Talk-Line's Most Memorable Calls:
-- Home alone, a Kentucky woman was in the doghouse when she called the
Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. While preparing the turkey, her chihuahua
jumped into the bird's body cavity and couldn't get out. She tried pulling
the dog and shaking the bird, but nothing worked. She and the dog became
more and more distraught. After calming the woman down, the Talk-Line home
economist suggested carefully cutting the opening in the cavity of the
turkey wider. It worked and Fido was freed!
-- Birdie, eagle and turkey? Roasting a turkey doesn't have to interfere
with the daily routine, so said a retired Floridian. He called "Turkey
Central" for turkey grilling tips while waiting to tee off from the 14th
hole.
-- Taking turkey preparation an extra step, a Virginian wondered, "How do
you thaw a fresh turkey?" The Talk-Line staffer explained that fresh turkeys
aren't frozen and don't need to be thawed.
-- Don't wait until the last minute! On Thanksgiving Day, a Georgian woman
took the "Be prepared" motto to heart. She had just agreed to host
Thanksgiving Dinner and called the Talk-Line a year ahead of time for turkey
tips.
-- Happy Thanksgiving, President Clinton! A Southern woman called to
comment, "On Thanksgiving Day, the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line is more
important than the President. He can take the day off, but the Talk-Line
staff can't." (The Butterball Turkey Talk-Line is open Thanksgiving Day, 6
a.m. to 6 p.m., Central Standard Time.)
-- Thanksgiving Dinner on the run. A woman called 1-800-323-4848 to find out
how long it would take to roast her turkey. To answer the question, the
Talk-Line home economist asked how much the bird weighed. The woman
responded, "I don't know, it's still running around outside."
-- Tofu turkey? No matter how you slice it, Thanksgiving just isn't
Thanksgiving without turkey. A restaurant owner in California wanted to know
how to roast a turkey for a vegetarian menu.
-- White meat, anyone? A West Coast woman took turkey preparation to
extremes by scrubbing her bird with bleach. Afterward, she called the
Talk-Line to find out how to clean off the bleach. To her dismay, she was
advised to dispose of the turkey.
-- A young girl called on behalf of her mother who needed roasting advice To
provide approximate roasting times, the home economist asked what size the
turkey was. Without asking her mother the little girl paused, then replied,
"Medium."
-- A novice turkey-cooking chef wanted to know if the yellow netting and
wrapper around the turkey should be removed before roasting. Envisioning a
melted plastic turkey blob, the home economist responded, "Yes," then
offered complete roasting directions.
