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“A few years ago, microwaving a turkey started as a social media joke,” Johnson said, “but it became a craze.” Why, oh why, would someone want to microwave a turkey? “Well, if your oven is out of commission and you didn’t realize it until Thanksgiving morning, and you’re looking around wondering how else you can cook a turkey,” Johnson said. “We would talk to you about an outdoor grill, maybe, depending on where you live. I might talk about a crockpot, if the turkey is small enough. But the microwave can be done. It’s tedious, and there are some steps involved. But at the end of the day, you do have a cooked turkey. (In case you’re wondering, microwaved turkey tastes more steamed than roasted.) Other funny calls over the years include the woman whose dog jumped up, grabbed the turkey from the dinner table and dragged the whole thing to the floor and started eating it — before the family could sit down for their meal. Johnson could relate to that one — “I have a giant goldendoodle and a little Frenchie,” she said — and the Talk-Line helped the caller figure out that a fresh turkey (already defrosted) would save the day — and meal. So, what is Johnson’s No. 1 tip for turkey perfection? “Do not forget about your best friend on Thanksgiving Day — your meat thermometer, of course. It should register 180 degrees [Fahrenheit] in the thigh and 170 in the breast for best eating quality.”

ones are on the speakerphone, maybe it’s a husband and wife; he believes one way, she believes another way,” she said, “and we are the turkey mediator.” The busiest shifts are, no surprise, during the week of Thanksgiving, particularly from 6 to 10 on Thanksgiving morning. “As soon as we open the phones, we already have a queue,” Johnson said. But the team also gets a good warm-up in October, when they host a Butterball Talk-Line for the Canadian Thanksgiving, which took place Oct. 9 this year. The food traditions are similar; turkey remains the star of the table. For the Canadian callers, a French/ English bilingual staffer joins the phones. There are also Spanish-speaking turkey experts available during the full season. On both sides of the border, the staffers know that there’s a common misperception about the “difficulty” of cooking turkey. “The idea that it takes all day, all night; Grandma wakes up at 3 in the morning to cook the turkey. That’s not the case,” Johnson said. “We ask you the weight of the turkey, stuffed or unstuffed, and then we give you a range (for how long it will take). My oven is newer, so it might cook faster than my mom’s.” To make sure they’re speaking the same culinary language as their callers, the Talk-Line staffers also bone up on various regional cooking techniques and dishes. They know about frying turkeys, popular on the Gulf Coast, and they can provide safety tips for what happens when a refrigerated bird hits boiling oil. They also understand that some people (bless their hearts) call it stuffing, not dressing.

Professional Background: The fall of 2001 was a busy one. Nicole was finishing up her graduate student work in nutrition dietetics and starting her first season of talking turkey with the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. Over the last 20+ years of talking turkey, she has developed lifelong friendships with the Butterball team that have become an extension of her own family. She cannot imagine spending Thanksgiving with anyone but the Butterball family! “I love talking turkey to all the different ‘kitchens’ in America; some are quiet, others are full of chatter. The connection remains the same, however: providing the best advice to help celebrate their Thanksgiving meal.” Go-to Thanksgiving Tip: “Do not forget about your best friend on Thanksgiving Day — your meat thermometer, of course! It should register 180°F in the thigh and 170 in the breast for best eating quality!” Favorite Thing About Talking Turkey:

18 ROUSES WINTER 2023