Talk-Line Girds for 10th Year of Talking Turkey

It’s time to talk turkey again.

The Butterball Turkey Talk-Line is back in business for its 10th year of answering sometimes wacky questions with serious advice.

In 10 years, the experts who answer 1-(800)-323-4848 have heard just about every question and disaster that can befall the preparation of that Thanksgiving turkey.

Some questions are simple: “How do I turn my oven on?” a caller from Lawrence, Kan., asked.

Some are odd: “Do you baste under the turkey’s armpit?” a fledgling cook from Mankato, Minn., wanted to know.

Judging by some questions, some cooks might have been better off if they had not figured out how to turn that oven on.

A Baltimore woman said no one told her to remove the plastic wrap before cooking the bird. A newlywed from Quincy, Mass., prepared the bird for the oven by washing it--with soap. A Philadelphia woman called to ask about the rubber glove she left inside the turkey.

“I called my mother and asked her how to fix a turkey,” an Indiana cook said, “and she told me to call the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line.”

Talk-Line staffers still chuckle about the Egg Harbor City, N.J., secretary who apparently didn’t think much of her boss’s culinary ability and left a message for him to return a call to the Talk-Line.

Last year, the most-asked question was how to roast the bird. Answer: Use the conventional open pan method, with the uncovered turkey oiled and sitting on a rack in a 325-degree oven.

Other inquiries included how best to thaw a frozen turkey, how to stuff it and what to do with leftovers.