Talking turkey - do not baste with kitty litter

The holiday of Thanksgiving for those people who celebrate has passed but on its heels so to speak, is Christmas. Both holidays focus on family gatherings and sitting down (or standing as the case may be) for a festive meal with turkey as the main course. Turkey being poultry requires that certain precautions be taken when cooking the bird with some people unsure of how to go about it. This is when the Butterball turkey group who are in the business of selling turkeys and other things fowl, step in to help people out. On a personal observation, there are a lot of human turkeys I've come across in my life but I digress.

The company has set up a consumers Turkey Talk Line in which people can consult for any and all turkey-related issues. Questions can arise like how long should one roast a 25 lb. bird, or how large a turkey to buy for a party of 15 people. Normal, every day questions. Then there are issues that don't fall into the mundane, run-of-the-mill category.

For example after checking his father's freezer, a man from Alabama consulted with the Talk Line to find out about the best way to cook a 30 and then years old-ish bird. It was suggested that perhaps a good way to begin would be to buy a new turkey.

- A woman in her 70's who was cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, called for assistance after her mother(!) told her that she was tired of preparing the big meal and it was time that her daughter learned how. O-kay...whatever...

- Then there's the woman who couldn't figure out why her turkey had no breast meat and was told that her turkey was merely upside down. Or a first-timer who was sobbing her heart out after thawing her turkey and rinsing it in dish soap no less and couldn't get rid of the suds from the bird. At least there would be clean cuts.

- There's oil - and then there's oil a man who called to say that he had cut his turkey in half using a chainsaw and wondered if the oil from the chain would affect the turkey.

Any and all turkey-related questions covering all categories are answered by a team of presumably turkey experts at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, a free 24-hour, call-in hot line. It's open to residents living in the U.S. and Canada throughout November and December by calling 1-800-BUTTERBALL. There is a plethora of information for everyone focusing on everything turkey - and then some:

http://www.butterball.com/contact-us#faqs

By the way, I recall a while back somebody forgetting to remove the bag of giblets from inside the turkey cavity and roasting them. Gave it that je ne sais quoi flavor. Thinking further, it just could have been me.

My favorite turkey-related question was posed by a woman who wanted to know if it was all right to cook her turkey on a bed of cat litter. Only if she asks the cat permission.