Open 24/7, the Butterball Turkey hotline has been helping beginning or just confused chefs for 35 years to make sure that the Thanksgiving turkey is cooked just right.
When the hotline first opened up to panicked chefs in the early ‘80s, a mere six “home economists” responded to 11,000 phone calls during November and December. Now, the staff has grown to more than 50 and they typically answer over 100,000 calls.
However, sometimes even the most experienced staff members who think they have heard it all are occasionally surprised by some of the questions asked by callers. Here are a few of our favorites:
“Can I brine my turkey in the washing machine?”
In case you were wondering, the answer is no.
“The family dog is stuck inside the turkey and we can’t get it out.”
Apparently it was a chihuahua and the undaunted Butterball expert was able to help the owners safely extract the dog. No word if the turkey was salvaged however.
“Is the turkey still safe to cook and eat if my husband had it thawing out in the bathtub with the kids?”
A wife came home to find the turkey floating in the tub while her husband gave the kids a bath. Believe it or not, because the turkey hadn't been removed from the package, it was salvaged, but the kids complained about the chilly water.
“Why does my turkey have no breast meat?”
Luckily it didn't take the Butterball staff member long to realize through a few insightful questions that the unhappy caller had the turkey upside down. All it took was a quick flip and dinner was saved!
“How do I get my turkey to stop sudsing?”
It turned out that the caller had carefully and thoroughly washed the turkey with dish soap. A lot of dish soap.
“I have a tiny apartment-sized oven … how much will my turkey expand when cooking?”
This first time cook thought turkeys expanded when cooked, just like bread. Imagine her relief when she learned it would still fit in the oven when it was done cooking!
For a few more interesting and unusual questions, check out The 10 Most Outrageous Turkey Questions the Butterball Hotline Has Ever Been Asked
Source: People and Mental Floss
