Talking turkey with a former Butterball crisis pro

Talking turkey with a former Butterball crisis pro
Renee Ferguson joined Eight Forty-Eight with recipe ideas to take turkey beyond its appearance on the holiday meal table. Flickr/Nathalie Cone
Talking turkey with a former Butterball crisis pro
Renee Ferguson joined Eight Forty-Eight with recipe ideas to take turkey beyond its appearance on the holiday meal table. Flickr/Nathalie Cone

Talking turkey with a former Butterball crisis pro

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Even the most fearless cooks can be felled by one dish: turkey. The mighty bird poses a variety of conundrums—how long and at what temperature should the bird be cooked? How can it be kept moist? And why won’t it thaw faster? So, it was little suprise when Butterball set up a turkey hotline to prevent folks from running afoul in the kitchen.

Renee Ferguson worked that phone line for many years and she joined Eight Forty-Eight with a simple message: Don’t fear the bird! In fact, she challenged bird lovers to free it from its holiday rut and bring turkey to the next tailgate. Ferguson is the author of Talk Turkey to Me: A Good Time in the Kitchen Talking Turkey and all the Trimmings.