Homemade Sausage Making

I am looking for a good cutting board. What is better plastic or wood? Do any other forum members have any suggestions?

For a modest size poplar or maple is just a good as plastic in my opinion. I have and use both wood and plastic.

We have been trying a couple of smaller bamboo boards-they are holding up better than the standard wood boards, don't seem to dull the knives too bad and also clean up very well. For a big board I have always liked the synthetics as they are less expensive than a large wood board and also considerably lighter.

Pat

A lot of the choice would depend on the section of the country where you live. I have never purchased a wooden cutting board because most sawmills have offcuts that may be had for free. But central Texas isn't likely to be running much maple or poplar. Wisconson will have a broad range of trees with neutral wood taste. My mother used a pine board for years.

I use a variety of cutting boards, so mainly it depends on what & how much i'm making. My 'go-to' main cutting board is made of HDPE (hi-density poly). Food-safe, easy to clean, bleach-able, knife-cuts get sanded out. I had one cut to fit my peninsula counter top (approx 28x46" & 1/2" thick). Perfect for raw meats....


I also have a section of Corian counter top I'll use sometimes. It sits upon my tile counter and is small enough I can carry the whole thing, loaded, out to the smoker:


I still like my old butcher-block wooden cutting board. Easily transportable. Mainly for COOKED meats...

Love the look and feel of wood, but since I do so much with poultry I've gone 100% poly for my raw cutting boards.

For slicing and presentation I break out the wood ones. A lot of it is personal preference. Just make sure to clean it well regardless of type after use.

Charlie

When I worked in the A&P the butcher block was scraped clean each night with a special wire brush made with flat wire about an 1/8th inch wide and quite stiff. It was used on a pulled motion that scraped all of the grease and meat fluids off to bare clean wood. The year was 1954.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions

ssorllih wrote:When I worked in the A&P the butcher block was scraped clean each night with a special wire brush made with flat wire about an 1/8th inch wide and quite stiff. It was used on a pulled motion that scraped all of the grease and meat fluids off to bare clean wood. The year was 1954.

Wow, I wasn't even a sausage maker's dream back then!

So, what did you decide Blackriver? Don't keep us in suspense!

Charlie

"They" say that material builds up, down in the pores of wooden cutting boards, so they can't be cleaned easily. Up? Down? I got dizzy and switched to polyethylene.

Then "they" said that cleaning a cutting board off with water to which a little bleach has been added sterilizes the board, so I switched back. Beloved Spouse likes bamboo, now. It's supposed to be less prone to retaining food particles.

Beats me. I grab the size I want, scrub it with hot soapy water before and after use, and use a dishpan with a capful of bleach on my favorite boards about once a week. I used to think that cutting on Corian would dull knife blades, but it seems like the stuff is made of marble dust mixed into polyester, so maybe not.

Any choice would benefit from frequent cleaning and an occasional hit of bleach. (That's what we use in our water supply, mandated by EPA.) But as for only relying on scraping off the surface, in the old days, my grandfather the MD used to strop razors and scalpels on the bottom of his shoe before surgery, back in his day, so you might want to reconsider any method that doesn't at least use soap and water. ...and bleach.

...on? ...off? I'm getting dizzy again.

I keep a squeeze bottle of bleach on the back of the sink along with the soap. It can't hurt.

Not sure why, but me loves a duck!

Is there help for this affliction?

Charlie