For Thanksgiving this year, Alexa learned how to make a turkey.
Not literally. Alexa, Amazon’s voice-enabled personal assistant, doesn’t have any hands. But she did gain expert turkey-making knowledge through a “Turkey Talk Line” created by popular turkey brand Butterball. The “Butterball Alexa skill” allows users to listen to prerecorded answers to frequently asked turkey questions from experts who have manned the line for years.
Butterball introduced its Turkey Talk Line in 1981 to help nervous home chefs navigate the holidays. The line received 11,000 calls that first year, which six home economists answered. The helpline has opened for business every November and December since and grown its audience to more than 100,000 calls from households in the US and Canada. Butterball’s turkey counsel is also available by texting, live chat, social media, and, as of this year, Alexa.
And so it was decided. For the sake of journalism, Quartz’s tech team would cook a turkey using only guidance from Alexa.
1. Acquire the turkey
Choosing the right turkey is important. Alexa can help. Or, specifically, a nice old lady named Marge can help. “Welcome back to Butterball,” Marge said, when we summoned Alexa’s Butterball skill. “Let’s talk about choosing the right turkey. You can say things like, ‘What size turkey should I buy?’”
Marge—and Beth, and Christopher, the other featured voices on Alexa’s Butterball skill—are real people. Marge Klindera, in her 80s, has worked the Butterball hotline for more than 35 years, making her the longest-standing member of the hotline team. “I’m known as the ‘Butterball lady’ where I live,” she told Mic in 2017. “It kind of follows you wherever you go.”
Butterball recommends 1.5 lbs of turkey per person “for generous leftovers,” Marge told us. We needed very generous leftovers since we were going to bring the Alexa turkey for our office Thanksgiving party the following day, so my coworker and resident team chef Dave Gershgorn picked up a 15.5-pounder.
2. Prepare the turkey for roasting
One of the questions Marge answers is “How do I cook a perfect turkey?” According to Butterball, there are five steps to preparing a turkey for roasting.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit (162 degrees Celsius)
- Remove the giblet bag, drain the juices, and pat dry. (What are giblets? You can ask Alexa that too. “Let’s talk giblets!” Beth responded enthusiastically, when I did.)
- Place the turkey breast-side up on a flat rack in a roasting pan.
- Turn the wings back to hold the neck skin in place.
- Spray or brush the skin with vegetable or cooking oil (we rubbed ours all over with butter).
Dave went a little off-script and also stuffed our turkey cavity with some herbs and homemade maple stuffing. Like I said, Dave is a real cook.
3. Roast the turkey
Actual Alexa calculated our cook time for us. “Great, I can handle that,” Alexa said, when asked how long to cook the turkey. She asked how many pounds the turkey was (15.5 lbs), and whether we’d be cooking it with stuffing inside (yes, obviously).
“For a 15.5lb turkey with stuffing, you should cook it for three-and-three-quarters to four-and-a-half hours,” Alexa said. “Well this is interesting turkey talk,” she added, in a tone of supreme disinterest. Alexa does not get into the Thanksgiving spirit like Marge.
“Alexa, bring back Marge,” I said.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think this skill can help with that,” Alexa said.
4. Check for doneness.
While the turkey cooked, we made pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and a green-bean side dish. We also blogged, because it was a work day. Outside it was snowing.
Butterball’s Alexa experts recommend using a meat thermometer to check your turkey is done. It should be 180°F (82°C) in the thigh, 170°F (76°C) in the breast, and 165°F (73°C) “in the stuffing, if you have stuffing,” Marge said.
We cooked the turkey for something like 4.5 hours. “I may have consulted some other recipes,” Dave admitted.
5. Carve the turkey
Marge understands that carving a turkey can be intimidating. “If you’ve never carved a turkey before, don’t sweat it,” she said.
After cooking and before carving, let the turkey sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Next, separate the drumsticks by cutting between the leg and breast. After that, cut the turkey breast sideways along the bottom, and then carve it into slices starting at the top of the breast.
“We know these carving steps can be a little tricky,” Marge said in a reassuring voice, “so head to Butterball.com to watch our video for additional help.”
We didn’t go to Butterball.com, because thankfully Dave knew what he was doing.
6. Enjoy the turkey
Alexa’s Butterball experts claimed to have advice on this too, but their questions were limited to more practical matters: checking for doneness, where to put a meat thermometer, carving a turkey, and storing leftovers (“to ensure your leftovers are safe to eat, store your leftovers in separate containers within two hours of cooking”).
At any rate, we didn’t need help enjoying the turkey. It was delicious.
Dave Gershgorn contributed cooking, Mike Murphy contributed photos, and everyone contributed eating.