PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — This year's Thanksgiving is going to be quite different from previous years in a lot of households because of COVID-19. There will be fewer people around the dinner table, and there may be a lot of first-time cooks preparing the meal.
For those novices, there is the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line — a time-trusted resource offering free help for hapless home economists.
The hotline comprises a group of more than 50 consultants — including Spanish-speakers — standing by to talk turkey.
Diana Jimenez, in her 17th year with the hotline, said this time of year the No. 1 question is how to thaw that big frozen bird.
Jimenez says it’s simple: Fill the kitchen sink with cold water and submerge the turkey.
“Leave it in the wrapper. Place the turkey breast down. Change the water frequently, and that will help speed up the process, and your turkey will be fine for Thanksgiving,” she advised.
“If you want to go back and put it in the refrigerator before you go to bed, that would be good, because that’s safe,” Jimenez continued. “And then the next morning, if the turkey still needs a couple of hours to thaw out, then you can put it back in the water.”
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And what about roasting the bird?
“You need to set your oven at 325,” Jimenez said. “Use a shallow, open pan. Brush the skin of the turkey with vegetable oil, or you could use cooking spray.”
She said a turkey that’s about 15 lbs. to 18 lbs., and unstuffed, will take about 3 hours to 3.5 hours to fully cook.
For more tips on preparing and cooking a holiday turkey, Butterball has evolved from its 1-800-Butterball hotline to establish a presence on social media and on virtual assistant technology.
“You simply say, ‘Alexa, ask Butterball,’ and then just ask your cooking questions and hear a trusted hotline expert share the answers,” Jimenez said.
Those home cooks who prefer may also consult the website, Butterball.com.