Butterball Turkey Talk-Line 2026: Hours, Phone and Text Numbers, Thanksgiving Times

Butterball’s Turkey Talk-Line is open on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST), according to the hours table on Butterball’s contact page, which we read on Nov. 7, 2026. That is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Butterball lists only CST, so the table below converts every row to the four main U.S. time zones.

Butterball says the line is open Nov. 2 to Dec. 24 and that hours vary. For a person, call 1-800-Butterball (1-800-288-8372). For a written answer, text 844-877-3456. The page also offers a live chat with an expert representative. Butterball does not split the hours between phone and text, so this story treats the table as the Talk-Line hours. For the date of the holiday itself, see when Thanksgiving falls.

Butterball Talk-Line hours by time zone, Nov. 2 to Dec. 24, 2026

The CST column is Butterball’s own. Standard time is in effect everywhere in the United States from Nov. 2 on, so Eastern Time (ET) is one hour later than CST, Mountain Time (MT) is one hour earlier and Pacific Time (PT) is two hours earlier. Those three columns are our arithmetic.

Dates (2026)	Butterball’s label	Central (CST)	Eastern (ET)	Mountain (MT)	Pacific (PT)
Nov. 2 to 20	Weekdays	8 a.m. to 8 p.m.	9 a.m. to 9 p.m.	7 a.m. to 7 p.m.	6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Nov. 21 to 22	Sat and Sun	8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	9 a.m. to 7 p.m.	7 a.m. to 5 p.m.	6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nov. 23 to 25	Mon to Wed	7 a.m. to 9 p.m.	8 a.m. to 10 p.m.	6 a.m. to 8 p.m.	5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Nov. 26	Thanksgiving Day	6 a.m. to 6 p.m.	7 a.m. to 7 p.m.	5 a.m. to 5 p.m.	4 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nov. 28 to Dec. 18	Weekdays	8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	9 a.m. to 7 p.m.	7 a.m. to 5 p.m.	6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dec. 19 to 20	Sat and Sun	8 a.m. to 2 p.m.	9 a.m. to 3 p.m.	7 a.m. to 1 p.m.	6 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Dec. 21 to 23	Mon to Wed	8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	9 a.m. to 7 p.m.	7 a.m. to 5 p.m.	6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dec. 24	Christmas Eve	8 a.m. to 2 p.m.	9 a.m. to 3 p.m.	7 a.m. to 1 p.m.	6 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The Thanksgiving Day line opens at 4 a.m. on the Pacific coast, an hour earlier than the opening hour in the Mountain zone. The two days before the holiday, Mon., Nov. 23 to Wed., Nov. 25, are the longest days on the table, 14 hours each from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CST.

Which days are not listed on Butterball’s table?

Butterball’s table has no row for Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. It also has no row for the weekends of Nov. 7 to 8, Nov. 14 to 15, Dec. 5 to 6 and Dec. 12 to 13. A day missing from the table is not the same as a confirmed closure, so check with Butterball before you plan around one of those days.

One row needs a second look. The row for Nov. 28 to Dec. 18 is labeled weekdays, yet Nov. 28 and 29 fall on a Saturday and Sunday. The page does not say whether the line answers that weekend, and the first weekday in the row is Monday, Nov. 30.

What about the federal Meat and Poultry Hotline?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) runs a Meat and Poultry Hotline. Its 2026 Thanksgiving Day hours were not yet announced as of Nov. 7, 2026, and the FSIS pages would not open for our automated checks that day, so we are not printing a number or hours for it here. The FSIS Meat and Poultry Hotline page is the place to confirm both.

Where do the hotline dates fit in Thanksgiving week?

The refrigerator timing in when to thaw a Thanksgiving turkey starts as early as Nov. 20 for the biggest birds, and Butterball’s table lists Nov. 21 to 22 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST. For the days after the meal, see how long turkey and sides last and the Thanksgiving 2026 planner and countdown checklist.

Mark the days on the November 2026 printable calendar, or print the one-page sheet below with both numbers and the hours for each time zone.