Turkey troubles? Butterball turkey hotline back to answer Thanksgiving cooking questions

Anthony DiMattia, Delaware News Journal
Updated ·2 min read

Nervous about cooking your turkey this Thanksgiving? Don't fret, Butterball has you covered.

As part of an annual tradition, Butterball's "Turkey Talk-Line" is once again fielding calls, texts and emails from those who have questions about their turkey.

Do you need help for this holidays? Here's where to find answers to your turkey questions.

How to contact Butterball's 'Turkey Talk-Line'

You can call the Turkey Talk-Line at 800-288-8372 (800-BUTTERBALL), send a text to 844-877-3456 or send an email, though Butterball warns that email responses could be delayed during peak holiday times.

The Talk-Line will assist in the best ways to roast and grill a turkey, as well as ways to handle your bird, including:

  • How to choose a turkey.

  • How to thaw a frozen turkey.

  • How to stuff a turkey.

  • How to brine a turkey.

  • How to inject a turkey.

  • How to marinate a turkey.

History of Butterball's turkey hotline

The hotline to assist those in the kitchen was launched by Butterball in 1981.

The hotline has evolved from relatively humble beginnings — just six people answered 11,000 phone calls in that first year — to a call center of 50 people offering help in English and Spanish, per the company's website.

Butterball says it answers more than 100,000 questions every November and December.

More Thanksgiving support: Quick cooking hacks for Thanksgiving Day that will make the meal much less stressful

Memorable turkey hotline calls over the years

Here are a few memorable phone calls from over the years that Butterball has previously shared with USA TODAY:

  • A mother returned home from work to find her husband thawing a frozen turkey in the bathtub while simultaneously washing up the kids.

  • A woman called the Talk-Line whispering her questions. When asked to speak up, the newlywed explained she was hiding in the closet from her mother-in-law, whom she was trying to impress.

  • A landlord called panicked because his oven was too small to cook a turkey. He eventually was able to "rent" one from a tenant for $25. He thought he'd have to interrupt them every 10 minutes to baste it, but called the Talk-Line to learn that Butterball turkeys come pre-basted.

  • A woman lost power one hour into cooking her turkey and called the Talk-Line. The hotline talked her through transferring her turkey to her gas grill to continue cooking. What accounted for the outage? The caller's neighbor had crashed into a power line while hang gliding.

Jay Cannon contributed to this story

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Butterball turkey hotline returns with Thanksgiving cooking tips