Butterball has spoken! The turkey brand, which is famous for its Turkey Talk Line that provides Thanksgiving cooking advice to people around the country, has weighed in on the viral microwave turkey prank with some surprising advice.
The poultry producer’s response comes after millennials and other young adults have been tricking their parents into thinking they plan to cook the large birds by simply placing them in a microwave as opposed to, you know, an oven.
Known as the #25lbTurkeyChallenge, the prank has elicited worried responses from parents across America. “Turkey will explode. CALL ME NOW,” one parent told their child after she asked for microwaving advice. Added another concerned dad: “I’m no Guy Fieri but I don’t think a microwave can handle that.”
Even award-winning chef José Andrés fell for the prank after his daughter, Carlota, sought his input on how to microwave a 25-pound bird. “You kidding me,” he exclaimed via a text conversation that he later shared on Twitter. “Microwaves are the end of humankind!” Andrés also reminded his offspring of her impressive culinary lineage, telling her in Spanish “You are my daughter,” before concluding she’d be better off eating cold tofu.
However, hold on to your hats millennials, because Butterball says it is possible to microwave a turkey. The North Carolina-based company tells Today Food that the turkey (which should be smaller than 25 pounds in order to fit inside a microwave) must be thawed first and then microwaved on full power for several minutes before being basted, flipped and microwaved again on a lower power setting. But the point is, it can be done!
As Butterball tweeted on Friday, November 16, “We started microwaving turkeys before hashtags even existed. The #25LBturkeychallenge is a little ambitious, but a 12-pound turkey is no challenge at all. Give us a call at 1-800-BUTTERBALL and we’ll walk you through it step-by-step.”
Tell Us: Are you surprised that turkeys can be microwaved?
