Now turkey cooks can text their questions to Butterball

NEW YORK - “Forgot 2 defrost early. What 2 do now?” Butterball has been fielding phone calls from Thanksgiving cooks for three decades, but this year it’s letting people text their turkey-related questions for the first time.

The company’s regular phone help line begins Tuesday. Butterball will start to take text message questions on Nov. 17 and continue through Thanksgiving Day. Cooks can text questions to 844-877-3456 at any time of day, and experts -- not bots -- will be on call 24 hours. People can also still reach the company’s experts through email or social media.

While the way people ask questions has changed over the years, Butterball says the most-asked question has remained the same: How long does it take to thaw the turkey?