November 23, 2025 • 18 mins
Happy Thanksgiving week! We are joined by Director of the Butterball Turkey Talk Line, Nicole Johnson to talk all about prepping for the big day!
What did she really think of the Gilmore Girls Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving episode?
Plus, all the tips and tricks that Sookie would approve of to have a successful Thanksgiving meal.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Let's just you.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Luke's Diner with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast. Hey everybody,
Scott Patterson, I Am all in Podcast, want eleven productions.
iHeartRadio Media. iHeart Podcast. We're doing a special happy Thanksgiving
episode for you with somebody very interesting guest we have
(00:38):
this week. She is Nicole Johnson. She's the director of
the Butterball Turkey talk Line and we're doing a special
episode of Luke's Diner with her. We're celebrating Thanksgiving, obviously,
and we think Nicole is the perfect perfect guest. There's more,
so much more to your bio. But why there's so
(01:00):
many questions that we want to ask you, So let's
just get into it. Nicole, welcome, Hello, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Thank you you having us. Oh we're good, Scott. We're
busy today. We're getting ready for our busiest week, so fantastic.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Well, thanks for taking the time. So before we get into.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
The meat of it, little Turkey chuck between us Turkey folks,
tell me about what it means to be the director
of the Butterball Turkey talk Line.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, thanks for asking. The talk line itself started in
nineteen eighty one, so forty four years, the talk line's
been up and going. I joined the talk line in
two thousand and one and back then twenty plus years ago.
To join the talk line, it was a little bit
different of an interview process. We didn't have to advertise
(01:50):
for it. It was a word of mouth referral. So one
of my graduate instructors at the time, she also worked
on the talk line and thought you'd be a verat fit.
It's a seasonal position. You know, you're empathetic, you have
a great food background. Let me give you the referral.
So she did and I joined back in two thousand
(02:11):
and one. It's an amazing job. It is seasonal for
our team. We have over fifty men and women answering
consumers questions. You know, there's many ways to reach us.
But I'm year round leading the team in the in
the director position. So I truly love my job.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It's mainly people calling in to get instructions about how
to prep their turkeys and what kind of turkey to buy,
and you got it, got twenty coming over. How many
should how big a turkey should I have? Should I
have multiples? And then what do I do with this thing?
This suction thing in how do I work? So you're
doing all the basic stuff right and telling people how
(02:52):
to have a better Thanksgiving experience, right, Okay.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Do get a lot of questions like that?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yes, we do, because I don't know either. I mean,
let me ask you this. Do people carve with a
carving knife more to the because we have those electric knives? Yes,
so it's more carving knives now, not so much the
electric saws that you saw the turkey up with.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I think it's I think it's personal preference, and I
think it's family tradition. I'm nearing my fifties and my
dad because I work every Thanksgiving, my folks will host
my four little butterballs, my four kiddos, and they always
kind of tease my dad a little bit because he
comes down with this. He takes it out once a year.
(03:36):
And yeah, you're right, it's at electric carver and that's
his personal preference, right, kind of family tradition. He's always done.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
It that way.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
But a lot of folks will ask for instructions, you know,
to carve their turkey with with the knife. We have
a couple tips and tricks for that. So you're right,
we get questions. You know, how should I go about carving?
Should I stuff my turkey? Should I not stuff it?
And that's where we really like tell people, how did
what's your family tradition? Right? How did how did you
grow up? Because we have advice for quite a bit,
(04:06):
quite a bit of waste.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
I would like to make a turkey statement. Yeah, I'm
on the side, and I will always advocate for stuffing
the turkey. The quality and the flavor.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
It's phenomenal. So did you grow up like that?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
My mom was a turkey stuffer? Ditto likewise, I mean
she didn't mester, she didn't play. Yeah, yeah, she's and
it was delicious.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
And it's amazing how much stuffing she could pack in there.
It's like it just kept coming out, you know what
I mean. I let's start with the basics. How do you, Nicole?
How do you choose a turkey?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Well, it depends on if I am looking to fall
my frozen turkey. You know that's our number one question
here at the Butterball Turkey Talk Line. How do I
thaw my turkey?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Right?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
And so you want to remember it takes twenty four
hours for every four pounds of turkey meat to thaw
on your fridge. So if you do the math, if
you have a twenty four pound turkey, that's a good
six days to thaw on the fridge. You can also
use a cold water back method, So if I want
to thaw the turkey, I'll use that method. But you know,
I'm working some pretty long hours right now, so I
(05:20):
may choose something that doesn't require thawing. We have some
turkeys that are they're just that they're just cooked and frozen.
It's about convenience, which is, you know, oftentimes what I
need with my four kiddos. Maybe I want to do
a turkey breath, Maybe I want to do ground turkey.
Kind of just depends on what, you know, what my
work schedule looks like, but they're all good options.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
How do people figure out what sized turkey they need?
Is there a like a poundage for per person or
per two people? How does what's what's the metric there?
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah, we usually tell folks a pounds and a half
to two pounds per person, So you know, your family
of five or six, you're looking ten to twelve pounds turkey.
If you want to have leftovers, definitely go more towards
that two pound range and you can store your leftovers
in the refrigerator for three days and then in the
freezer for up to three months.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I don't know if there's a better lunch the next day,
the next to two days, because it's that weekend, right,
because if Thanksgiving falls on Thursday or Friday, right now,
you got all weekend to watch football? Yes, just and
just grind on on turkey sandwiches with stuffing. Yes, there's
there's no better lunches.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Turkey nachos, what yes? What? Yes? And my kids love
that because they can just add their own toppings, right.
Kids want to do that, They kind of want to
make it their own. Those are delicious, right. So, if
you guys have shreded turkey leftover, throw it in a
plastic baggie and try it. It's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Let check it out. What's the best way to tell
if the turkey is done ready to go?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
The safest way we're all about food safety year at
the top, is to use a meat thermometer to check
for done.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
This.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
You don't want to overcook the turkey, but you definitely
don't want to undercook it either, Right, So it's going
to register one seventy in the thigh and one seventy
in the breast for best eating quality. But for folks
like us who like the stuff and carry on our
mom's tradition, you can take that meat thermometer, insert it
right in the center of the stuffing, and when it
registers one sixty five, your turkey's done.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Huh fantastic?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
All right?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So what is the number one turkey mistake people will
make every Thanksgiving?
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Well, As a working mom and having four kids and
a lot of different schedules, I think people need to plan.
You know, ideally, I'm a little bit of a paper
and pen girl myself. But regardless if it's paper and
pen or you know, you keep your list on your phone,
try to plan in advance. Right, even though I have
cooked a lot of turkeys, I will go ahead and
(07:56):
list out everything that I'll need in advance. I'm also
all about convenience too, so I may opt for a
throwaway disposable pan saves it a little bit of a
cleanup saves with a lot of the cleanup, Or if
you want to use an oven cooking bag, we can
give you instructions for that. It's more of a moistic method.
It's it's tender, juicy, delicious and all of the mass
(08:17):
is contained right in that in that bag. A lot
of folks will want to put their own stamp, I
guess on there, you know, Thanksgiving turkey. So they're very
grateful when they call and we have instructions. Yet we
have the traditional oven, that tried and true method, but
maybe they want to try outdoor grill. You know, we're
(08:38):
here in Chicago, so it's weather permitting on Thanksgiving. Deep
frying that's been popular since for years. It's been very popular.
There's some safety, there's some safety things you want to remember,
but it's a delicious turkey.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Deep deep frying a turkey is its actually a good method.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
It's delicious, really, it really is. Have you ever prepared? Okay,
So just from a food safety perspective, you do want
to keep in mind that, you know, you want to
have the right oil of choice because of that higher
smoke point that you need. Peanut oil is a great
option you want, you know, you want to remind people
to do it outside and their their fryer outside. Make
(09:20):
sure that turkey is fully thawed, right. We don't want
those ice crystals to to you know, spatter on that
hot oil. That's that's where you could have, you know,
an issue. But it's delicious.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It's very good.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Usual, your fourteen pound turkey or less is the most
ideal size for that fryer. It's delicious.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
So what's the largest turkey you can get?
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Well, we do get a lot of phone calls usually
twenty six to twenty eight pounds. That's a that's a
pretty large sized turkey. It's it's yeah, it's a it's
a good sized turkey. But if you're looking for a
lot of yield of meat, what you can go ahead
and do is purchase purchase two smaller turkeys. You can
(10:12):
even cook them side by side in the oven as
long as they fit side by side. And we can
give you instructions on that too. So some people might
do that, or maybe they just want some more white meat,
so we can tell them to get a bone in
or a boneless breast. That's a great option.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
All right.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Let's say somebody overcooks their turkey. Is there any way
to save it?
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Well, we're always thankful that if we get that phone call.
Really it's not a food safety issue, right, you haven't
undercooked it. Because we do have some of those conversations
if you overcook it. You know, you may just want
to use a we may talk through some gravy recipes
it up, right, Yeah, and maybe what not to do
(10:57):
next time. Right. We just kind of walked through it
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Try to help them as best we can, right, make
them feel good. There's a little bit of helpe there
with the grid. Yes, So what's the wildest or most
humorous call that you've ever taken, like something like a
screaming emergency or something or yes.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
And some of our callers, some of our team rather
they have ten years of almost forty years almost you know,
the entire existence of the talk line itself, and we
get those repeat callers who call and want to speak
to those specific individuals every year. And sometimes it's you know,
for turkey advice, or sometimes it's the creative ways. You know,
we'll hear the people will fall and we've heard electric blanket.
(11:42):
We've heard you know, countertop thawing, which is not ideal.
But those are some of the really nice calls that
we get. Sometimes people call for for the turkey advice,
but a lot of times some folks are lonely on
Thanksgiving week too, so there's something to be said about
(12:03):
And I just got done saying this to one of
my colleagues. There's something to be said about that human
connection and what we offer here at the talk line.
When we talk to our cooks on the phone. You
can get our information, yes, on email, chat, text, and
social media, and that's all great. You know, my kids
love making text. That's very cool. But the phones, you know,
(12:26):
they're really the hard of the talk line. We all
work on Thanksgiving Day, we dedicate our Thanksgiving Day. We're
doing eight, nine, maybe even ten hour shifts here on Thanksgiving. Yes,
we're super busy. You know that there's always a way
to reach us. So we have a callback feature. You
can enter your phone number and we'll call you back
when it's your place in line, which is kind of nice.
(12:47):
But then when we do call them back, they are
so grateful oftentimes kind of surprise. I think that you know,
we'll here, you're a real person on the other line,
You're not.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Just a you know.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
So yeah, and it feels pretty dark good to have
that kind of job, right and and and hear that
from from callers over the day.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Have you noticed any kind of regional differences in the
kind of questions people ask like person from New York
or person from the Midwest or South Dakota or Montana.
They also get a different kind of question somebody from
Florida or whatever.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
I don't know if I necessarily notice like a regional difference,
but you were mentioning earlier. If we get phone calls
where people are kind of kind of in a panic, right,
and those are the real cute ones. We'll be on
speakerphone right out of the gate. And a lot of times,
maybe it's you know, two siblings kind of bickering back
(13:50):
and forth and and and they're calling us because we're
going to determine, you know, one way or another, and
like our word is is goal to them, which also
feels very impowers. Maybe it's a husband and wife and
they're kind of going back and forth a little bit.
We get over Thanksgiving break, before the kiddos get out
of school, we get a lot of classrooms that we'll
call and you hear the teacher okay, okay, she's on
(14:13):
and and and we're talking to like a classroom full
of kids. And I love those calls. I probably because
I have, you know, four kiddos of my own, but
those are really cute, very cute calls with all the
with the classrooms.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
All right, so you watched, uh the show the Thanksgiving
episode deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving for thanks for Thanksgiving dinners
one day? Yes, one days? How did we do? What?
What's the verdict on each Turkey?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Well? I thought it was pretty cute that you had
to toss the roles to her after the fact because
she's thinking right that she that that was very cute.
But it was very cute. And I thought much like
them accommodating four different you know, gatherings or Thanksgivings. I
feel like that's kind of what we do here at
(15:04):
the talk line, kind of what you guys represent in
your show, right, just trying to make everybody really as
happy and just kind of give them as memorable. I
think of a Thanksgiving as we can.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Would you you wouldn't recommend people eating four different Thanksgiving dinners?
I mean, I mean, that's that's a lot.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
It is a holiday. You probably wouldn't do it every day.
But if you can do it, why not?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I like your attitude?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
All right?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
All right? If Butterball Turkey talk Line existed in the
Gilmore Girls universe, which character do you think you would
call you most often.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Well, I have three boys and one daughter, and I
watch that show and I see the bonding that that
that the two of them have, and it instantly makes
me think of my daughter.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
She's fifteen.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
She's an absolute sweetheart, but she's smart as a whip
and she's stay on my toes right. So I think
that I definitely relate to the show because of the bonding.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Of the two of them.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
You know, it's such a wholesome show too, which I love.
But it's fast paced too, and I love that, and
my household is fast paced with my kiddos, And I thought,
there it is so that I have. Yeah, that's a
good that's my answer for that.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You know, you know who I think it would be.
I think it would be Kirk. I think Kirk. I
think Kirk would call you and you would say something
like do you have a fire extinguisher in the house?
You know that kind of a thing.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
But I would stay calm, But I would stay calm.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Calm, rightly. I think Kirk would be calling you on
on the on the half hour. Nicole Johnson, it was
been a delight, good luck, just Thanksgiving, and keep doing
what you do. Helping out people who don't have a
clue what to do with the turkey, uh, and some
(17:08):
that do and just need a little assistance.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
All the best, Thank you, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
You got it. And and she's listen, everybody, give Nicole
a call. Okay, she can help you out. She knows
her she knows when it comes to turkey and parenting.
She knows her stuff, all right, so she can. She's
kind of like a turkey therapist, a little bit right
turkey social worker, kind of kind of a deal. She
(17:34):
can make your day better, all right. And best fans
on the planet, Thanks for all your downloads and cards
and letters. Keeping coming please, we really really do appreciate it.
And remember where you lead, we will follow. Stay safe everybody.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Everybody, and don't forget.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast
and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Let's just you.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Luke's Diner with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast. Hey everybody,
Scott Patterson, I Am all in Podcast, want eleven productions.
iHeartRadio Media. iHeart Podcast. We're doing a special happy Thanksgiving
episode for you with somebody very interesting guest we have
(00:38):
this week. She is Nicole Johnson. She's the director of
the Butterball Turkey talk Line and we're doing a special
episode of Luke's Diner with her. We're celebrating Thanksgiving, obviously,
and we think Nicole is the perfect perfect guest. There's more,
so much more to your bio. But why there's so
(01:00):
many questions that we want to ask you, So let's
just get into it. Nicole, welcome, Hello, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Thank you you having us. Oh we're good, Scott. We're
busy today. We're getting ready for our busiest week, so fantastic.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Well, thanks for taking the time. So before we get into.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
The meat of it, little Turkey chuck between us Turkey folks,
tell me about what it means to be the director
of the Butterball Turkey talk Line.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, thanks for asking. The talk line itself started in
nineteen eighty one, so forty four years, the talk line's
been up and going. I joined the talk line in
two thousand and one and back then twenty plus years ago.
To join the talk line, it was a little bit
different of an interview process. We didn't have to advertise
(01:50):
for it. It was a word of mouth referral. So one
of my graduate instructors at the time, she also worked
on the talk line and thought you'd be a verat fit.
It's a seasonal position. You know, you're empathetic, you have
a great food background. Let me give you the referral.
So she did and I joined back in two thousand
(02:11):
and one. It's an amazing job. It is seasonal for
our team. We have over fifty men and women answering
consumers questions. You know, there's many ways to reach us.
But I'm year round leading the team in the in
the director position. So I truly love my job.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It's mainly people calling in to get instructions about how
to prep their turkeys and what kind of turkey to buy,
and you got it, got twenty coming over. How many
should how big a turkey should I have? Should I
have multiples? And then what do I do with this thing?
This suction thing in how do I work? So you're
doing all the basic stuff right and telling people how
(02:52):
to have a better Thanksgiving experience, right, Okay.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Do get a lot of questions like that?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yes, we do, because I don't know either. I mean,
let me ask you this. Do people carve with a
carving knife more to the because we have those electric knives? Yes,
so it's more carving knives now, not so much the
electric saws that you saw the turkey up with.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I think it's I think it's personal preference, and I
think it's family tradition. I'm nearing my fifties and my
dad because I work every Thanksgiving, my folks will host
my four little butterballs, my four kiddos, and they always
kind of tease my dad a little bit because he
comes down with this. He takes it out once a year.
(03:36):
And yeah, you're right, it's at electric carver and that's
his personal preference, right, kind of family tradition. He's always done.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
It that way.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
But a lot of folks will ask for instructions, you know,
to carve their turkey with with the knife. We have
a couple tips and tricks for that. So you're right,
we get questions. You know, how should I go about carving?
Should I stuff my turkey? Should I not stuff it?
And that's where we really like tell people, how did
what's your family tradition? Right? How did how did you
grow up? Because we have advice for quite a bit,
(04:06):
quite a bit of waste.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
I would like to make a turkey statement. Yeah, I'm
on the side, and I will always advocate for stuffing
the turkey. The quality and the flavor.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
It's phenomenal. So did you grow up like that?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
My mom was a turkey stuffer? Ditto likewise, I mean
she didn't mester, she didn't play. Yeah, yeah, she's and
it was delicious.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
And it's amazing how much stuffing she could pack in there.
It's like it just kept coming out, you know what
I mean. I let's start with the basics. How do you, Nicole?
How do you choose a turkey?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Well, it depends on if I am looking to fall
my frozen turkey. You know that's our number one question
here at the Butterball Turkey Talk Line. How do I
thaw my turkey?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Right?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
And so you want to remember it takes twenty four
hours for every four pounds of turkey meat to thaw
on your fridge. So if you do the math, if
you have a twenty four pound turkey, that's a good
six days to thaw on the fridge. You can also
use a cold water back method, So if I want
to thaw the turkey, I'll use that method. But you know,
I'm working some pretty long hours right now, so I
(05:20):
may choose something that doesn't require thawing. We have some
turkeys that are they're just that they're just cooked and frozen.
It's about convenience, which is, you know, oftentimes what I
need with my four kiddos. Maybe I want to do
a turkey breath, Maybe I want to do ground turkey.
Kind of just depends on what, you know, what my
work schedule looks like, but they're all good options.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
How do people figure out what sized turkey they need?
Is there a like a poundage for per person or
per two people? How does what's what's the metric there?
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah, we usually tell folks a pounds and a half
to two pounds per person, So you know, your family
of five or six, you're looking ten to twelve pounds turkey.
If you want to have leftovers, definitely go more towards
that two pound range and you can store your leftovers
in the refrigerator for three days and then in the
freezer for up to three months.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I don't know if there's a better lunch the next day,
the next to two days, because it's that weekend, right,
because if Thanksgiving falls on Thursday or Friday, right now,
you got all weekend to watch football? Yes, just and
just grind on on turkey sandwiches with stuffing. Yes, there's
there's no better lunches.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Turkey nachos, what yes? What? Yes? And my kids love
that because they can just add their own toppings, right.
Kids want to do that, They kind of want to
make it their own. Those are delicious, right. So, if
you guys have shreded turkey leftover, throw it in a
plastic baggie and try it. It's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Let check it out. What's the best way to tell
if the turkey is done ready to go?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
The safest way we're all about food safety year at
the top, is to use a meat thermometer to check
for done.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
This.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
You don't want to overcook the turkey, but you definitely
don't want to undercook it either, Right, So it's going
to register one seventy in the thigh and one seventy
in the breast for best eating quality. But for folks
like us who like the stuff and carry on our
mom's tradition, you can take that meat thermometer, insert it
right in the center of the stuffing, and when it
registers one sixty five, your turkey's done.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Huh fantastic?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
All right?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So what is the number one turkey mistake people will
make every Thanksgiving?
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Well, As a working mom and having four kids and
a lot of different schedules, I think people need to plan.
You know, ideally, I'm a little bit of a paper
and pen girl myself. But regardless if it's paper and
pen or you know, you keep your list on your phone,
try to plan in advance. Right, even though I have
cooked a lot of turkeys, I will go ahead and
(07:56):
list out everything that I'll need in advance. I'm also
all about convenience too, so I may opt for a
throwaway disposable pan saves it a little bit of a
cleanup saves with a lot of the cleanup, Or if
you want to use an oven cooking bag, we can
give you instructions for that. It's more of a moistic method.
It's it's tender, juicy, delicious and all of the mass
(08:17):
is contained right in that in that bag. A lot
of folks will want to put their own stamp, I
guess on there, you know, Thanksgiving turkey. So they're very
grateful when they call and we have instructions. Yet we
have the traditional oven, that tried and true method, but
maybe they want to try outdoor grill. You know, we're
(08:38):
here in Chicago, so it's weather permitting on Thanksgiving. Deep
frying that's been popular since for years. It's been very popular.
There's some safety, there's some safety things you want to remember,
but it's a delicious turkey.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Deep deep frying a turkey is its actually a good method.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
It's delicious, really, it really is. Have you ever prepared? Okay,
So just from a food safety perspective, you do want
to keep in mind that, you know, you want to
have the right oil of choice because of that higher
smoke point that you need. Peanut oil is a great
option you want, you know, you want to remind people
to do it outside and their their fryer outside. Make
(09:20):
sure that turkey is fully thawed, right. We don't want
those ice crystals to to you know, spatter on that
hot oil. That's that's where you could have, you know,
an issue. But it's delicious.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It's very good.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Usual, your fourteen pound turkey or less is the most
ideal size for that fryer. It's delicious.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
So what's the largest turkey you can get?
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Well, we do get a lot of phone calls usually
twenty six to twenty eight pounds. That's a that's a
pretty large sized turkey. It's it's yeah, it's a it's
a good sized turkey. But if you're looking for a
lot of yield of meat, what you can go ahead
and do is purchase purchase two smaller turkeys. You can
(10:12):
even cook them side by side in the oven as
long as they fit side by side. And we can
give you instructions on that too. So some people might
do that, or maybe they just want some more white meat,
so we can tell them to get a bone in
or a boneless breast. That's a great option.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
All right.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Let's say somebody overcooks their turkey. Is there any way
to save it?
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Well, we're always thankful that if we get that phone call.
Really it's not a food safety issue, right, you haven't
undercooked it. Because we do have some of those conversations
if you overcook it. You know, you may just want
to use a we may talk through some gravy recipes
it up, right, Yeah, and maybe what not to do
(10:57):
next time. Right. We just kind of walked through it
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Try to help them as best we can, right, make
them feel good. There's a little bit of helpe there
with the grid. Yes, So what's the wildest or most
humorous call that you've ever taken, like something like a
screaming emergency or something or yes.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
And some of our callers, some of our team rather
they have ten years of almost forty years almost you know,
the entire existence of the talk line itself, and we
get those repeat callers who call and want to speak
to those specific individuals every year. And sometimes it's you know,
for turkey advice, or sometimes it's the creative ways. You know,
we'll hear the people will fall and we've heard electric blanket.
(11:42):
We've heard you know, countertop thawing, which is not ideal.
But those are some of the really nice calls that
we get. Sometimes people call for for the turkey advice,
but a lot of times some folks are lonely on
Thanksgiving week too, so there's something to be said about
(12:03):
And I just got done saying this to one of
my colleagues. There's something to be said about that human
connection and what we offer here at the talk line.
When we talk to our cooks on the phone. You
can get our information, yes, on email, chat, text, and
social media, and that's all great. You know, my kids
love making text. That's very cool. But the phones, you know,
(12:26):
they're really the hard of the talk line. We all
work on Thanksgiving Day, we dedicate our Thanksgiving Day. We're
doing eight, nine, maybe even ten hour shifts here on Thanksgiving. Yes,
we're super busy. You know that there's always a way
to reach us. So we have a callback feature. You
can enter your phone number and we'll call you back
when it's your place in line, which is kind of nice.
(12:47):
But then when we do call them back, they are
so grateful oftentimes kind of surprise. I think that you know,
we'll here, you're a real person on the other line,
You're not.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Just a you know.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
So yeah, and it feels pretty dark good to have
that kind of job, right and and and hear that
from from callers over the day.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Have you noticed any kind of regional differences in the
kind of questions people ask like person from New York
or person from the Midwest or South Dakota or Montana.
They also get a different kind of question somebody from
Florida or whatever.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
I don't know if I necessarily notice like a regional difference,
but you were mentioning earlier. If we get phone calls
where people are kind of kind of in a panic, right,
and those are the real cute ones. We'll be on
speakerphone right out of the gate. And a lot of times,
maybe it's you know, two siblings kind of bickering back
(13:50):
and forth and and and they're calling us because we're
going to determine, you know, one way or another, and
like our word is is goal to them, which also
feels very impowers. Maybe it's a husband and wife and
they're kind of going back and forth a little bit.
We get over Thanksgiving break, before the kiddos get out
of school, we get a lot of classrooms that we'll
call and you hear the teacher okay, okay, she's on
(14:13):
and and and we're talking to like a classroom full
of kids. And I love those calls. I probably because
I have, you know, four kiddos of my own, but
those are really cute, very cute calls with all the
with the classrooms.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
All right, so you watched, uh the show the Thanksgiving
episode deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving for thanks for Thanksgiving dinners
one day? Yes, one days? How did we do? What?
What's the verdict on each Turkey?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Well? I thought it was pretty cute that you had
to toss the roles to her after the fact because
she's thinking right that she that that was very cute.
But it was very cute. And I thought much like
them accommodating four different you know, gatherings or Thanksgivings. I
feel like that's kind of what we do here at
(15:04):
the talk line, kind of what you guys represent in
your show, right, just trying to make everybody really as
happy and just kind of give them as memorable. I
think of a Thanksgiving as we can.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Would you you wouldn't recommend people eating four different Thanksgiving dinners?
I mean, I mean, that's that's a lot.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
It is a holiday. You probably wouldn't do it every day.
But if you can do it, why not?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I like your attitude?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
All right?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
All right? If Butterball Turkey talk Line existed in the
Gilmore Girls universe, which character do you think you would
call you most often.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Well, I have three boys and one daughter, and I
watch that show and I see the bonding that that
that the two of them have, and it instantly makes
me think of my daughter.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
She's fifteen.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
She's an absolute sweetheart, but she's smart as a whip
and she's stay on my toes right. So I think
that I definitely relate to the show because of the bonding.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Of the two of them.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
You know, it's such a wholesome show too, which I love.
But it's fast paced too, and I love that, and
my household is fast paced with my kiddos, And I thought,
there it is so that I have. Yeah, that's a
good that's my answer for that.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You know, you know who I think it would be.
I think it would be Kirk. I think Kirk. I
think Kirk would call you and you would say something
like do you have a fire extinguisher in the house?
You know that kind of a thing.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
But I would stay calm, But I would stay calm.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Calm, rightly. I think Kirk would be calling you on
on the on the half hour. Nicole Johnson, it was
been a delight, good luck, just Thanksgiving, and keep doing
what you do. Helping out people who don't have a
clue what to do with the turkey, uh, and some
(17:08):
that do and just need a little assistance.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
All the best, Thank you, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
You got it. And and she's listen, everybody, give Nicole
a call. Okay, she can help you out. She knows
her she knows when it comes to turkey and parenting.
She knows her stuff, all right, so she can. She's
kind of like a turkey therapist, a little bit right
turkey social worker, kind of kind of a deal. She
(17:34):
can make your day better, all right. And best fans
on the planet, Thanks for all your downloads and cards
and letters. Keeping coming please, we really really do appreciate it.
And remember where you lead, we will follow. Stay safe everybody.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Everybody, and don't forget.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast
and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.