Sealing Butcher Block Counters/Wood Cutting Boards

[JAZ]

any thoughts on how this thing might look after repeated use, or if it's worth just using a cutting board on top.

any advice, as always, is greatly appreciated.

Also keep in mind that some foods will tend to stain the maple -- parsley, blood oranges, beets, carrots. A little diluted bleach will usually take care of it, but it might be a consideration.

[TerrelK]

To clean of bacteria: use lots of soap and water. To clean of gunk: scrape with a Chinese cleaver until gunk gone.

[eat2much]

When my wife and I could not find a mutually agreeable kitchen table we opted instead for a 30" x 72" stainless commercial kitchen prep table with shelf from a restaurant supply store. We contacted a local millwork place that whipped up a 1 3/4" maple butcher block top. While I must admit that most of the chopping, etc. is done on those thin plastic cutting mats (easy to clean and disinfect) the table top is a great surface for cranking out fresh pasta.

[Fat Guy]

any thoughts on how this thing might look after repeated use, or if it's worth just using a cutting board on top.

Before:

After:

Use a cutting board, silly.

[ngatti]

oooh, let me weigh in here.

Tommy: Your block is really a cutting board. The wheels won't really allow any heavy work with a cleaver (the table will bounce) and the board itself isn't really thick enough to do the heavy work that a proper "butcher block" does. However. it is perfectly fine for all the day to day work that a home kitchen requires. You may wish to place a thin acrylic or wood board on top to do the bulk of your slicing and dicing. it's convenient and portable.

The job of a proper butcher block is really to provide an immovable heavily weighted piece as a foundation to actual work. For instance, if pounding meats for scalopinne or carpaccio, you don't want the surface to be "bouncy". It creates more work. You particularly don't want it to be so if taking down sub-primals (cleaving racks of lamb or veal). It can be dangerous. You also want a very stable foundation when slicing and chopping. It lessons fatigue and just plain ol' feels better.

Butcher blocks are expensive. My inclination is to use a cutting board. I have always used one whether using a proper "block" or a 3-4 inch wooden table top. The manufacturer may tell you to use it's surface as is, but then again, a swayback block needs to be sanded level or replaced more often.

YMMV

Nick

[tommy]

oooh, let me weigh in here.

Tommy:  Your block is really a cutting board.  The wheels won't really allow any heavy work with a cleaver (the table will bounce) and the board itself isn't really thick enough to do the heavy work that a proper "butcher block" does.  However.  it is perfectly fine for all the day to day work that a home kitchen requires.  You may wish to place a thin acrylic or wood board on top to do the bulk of your slicing and dicing.  it's convenient and portable.

The job of a proper butcher block is really to provide an immovable heavily weighted piece as a foundation to actual work.  For instance, if pounding meats for scalopinne or carpaccio, you don't want the surface to be "bouncy".  It creates more work.  You particularly don't want it to be so if taking down sub-primals (cleaving racks of lamb or veal).   It can be dangerous.  You also want a very stable foundation when slicing and chopping.  It lessons fatigue and just plain ol' feels better.

Butcher blocks are expensive.  My inclination is to use a cutting board.  I have always used one whether using a proper "block" or a 3-4 inch wooden table top.   The manufacturer may tell you to use it's surface as is, but then again, a swayback block needs to be sanded level or replaced more often.

YMMV

Nick

oops. i meant to say: "cutting board."

for what it's worth, i looked into this a bit, as i was concerned about the wheels and stability. it's rather steady, and the wheels do lock. i'm not planning on plopping down sides of beef, and a band saw will not be an attachment.

however, i was hoping to use it for everyday light work, such as slicing and dicing vegetables, cutting/prepping meats, etc.

fat guy (nice graphic) seems to think it will look ugly if i use it as a cutting board. others think that it will add character and offer good advice on sanding if i start to hate the look. if whatever i do on it is reversible to some extent, i may just go with it as a cutting board.

You may wish to place a thin acrylic or wood board on top to do the bulk of your slicing and dicing. it's convenient and portable.

nick, that's actually what i'm hoping to avoid.

still torn,

tommy

Edited February 9, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Jinmyo]

torn tommy,

Use it. Sand it when needed.

[ngatti]

You don't have to leave the cutting board on top. Just use it for day to day stuff. You're right about usage. For the day to day requirements of a busy family, it'll be more than adequate. Even if you entertain a lot. Besides it's a pretty looking piece.

I have nothing that comes near it. Shoemakers kids and all that.

Nick

[Fat Guy]

Tommy, for your own good, I'm pulling rank here: I order you to use a cutting board.

Thank you.

[ronfland]

Tommy:

We have one very similar to yours, purchased for the same reason. We have had it for five years and have oiled it regularly throughout ownership. It is just now ready to be sanded, and we use it for EVERYTHING. I only pull out an extra cutting board when I've got a lot of prep going on, and don't want the surface to hold the scent/flavor of onions or garlic (have a special board for that). Normally though, that is taken care of with lemon and salt. I wash mine with soap and water with a hint of anti-bacterial cleaner thrown in and then rinse it well. Mine too is steady despite the wheels - but I don't throw sides of beef around either.

I think you might be happy with the "well used" look. Good luck.

[tommy]

ronfland, you (and others) are speakin my language.

fat guy, you haven't provided any compelling arguments here. if your opinion stems strictly from aesthetics, i might take issue, as the "well used" look is something i'm expecting. however, if you feel that the table or top won't make for a practical cutting board, i'd like to hear why. i can totally accept that, and expect it, as it was clear me before purchasing the thing that it was overpriced and basically for tourists.

any additional commentary, as always, would be appreciated.

Edited February 9, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Fat Guy]

Jinmyo and I are in agreement. That's all you need to know for now.

Seriously, though: everybody says sanding is so easy. I assure you it is a major pain in the ass and that the first time you do it you'll curse those who told you otherwise. You'll continue cursing them as you find bits of sawdust in your hair, teeth, and underwear for a month. You'll curse them even more when everybody who sees your cart says, "That table looks wack yo." Moreover, the surface of your cart is simply not on par with the surface of a really good -- and easily replaced -- end-grain butcher block cutting board, or even a hard rubber restaurant-style cutting board. Get one and leave it permanently on top. It will look and perform better. At the very least, you'll keep your options open.

[Jason Perlow]

Butcher block is overrated, unsanitary and difficult to maintain crap. Its shit that belongs on a cable kitchen redecoration show hosted by Martha Stewart and nowhere else. Do what FG suggests. Portable, dishwasher safe cutting boards are the way to go.

[JAZ]

Here's what I'd do (sshhh, don't tell Fat Guy):

Cut and chop on it to your heart's content. Knife marks are not a big deal. But if you need to mince several cups of parsley for tabbouli (sp?), or dice dozens of carrots, or peel beets for an army, throw one of those little flexible plastic cutting sheets over it. Otherwise you'll spend an hour with a scrub brush and some bleach water to get the stains out. You don't know me, I realize, but you can trust me on this one. I teach classes in a kitchen with a huge built in wooden chopping board, and before I taught there I assisted (read: washed dishes and cleaned up). This surface has been cut on for five years, and with a little oil, it looks pretty good. But cleaning up parsley or carrot stains is a BIG pain. Yes, you can get them out, but it sucks. (Oh, and try not to spill red wine on it either.) If you use the little flexible sheets, you can just toss them in the dishwasher after they becaome imbued with beet blood, and while not in use they're easy to store.

[Suzanne F]

Use it. Just remember, though, that if you cut meat or fish or poultry on it, you'll have to scrub it down thoroughly and sanitize before cutting anything else on it. Don't want those bad buggies to get you. So if you don't want to have to stop to clean in the middle of prep, use a cutting board for the meat, and the surface for anything else later.

[Fat Guy]

Or just use a cutting board for everything! The only thing I'd do directly on that surface is maybe roll dough.

[Matt Seeber]

butcher blocks are wack for home use, yo. not to mention impossible to put in your sink and scrub. cutting boards are much easier to deal with. placed on a sturdy table with a damp towel under it to prevent slippage is your best bet.

get one of these for 9 bucks. when it gets stained or warped, throw it out and get another one. better yet - at that price, buy 5 and put 4 on the floor in your closet.

[col klink]

I recently bought an Ikea chopping block sans wheels and I'm absolutely in love with it. Here I am deboning a duck for a turducken:

I never knew love until I met my butcher block. I take down large pieces of meat (well, not sides, but pretty large) and it just feels great to have a sturdy block to work on. I use it for mincing, chopping and all of my prep work. Ideally I'd like to be able to bring it under the sink, but obviously that's not possible, but it really isn't that hard to clean up. The only thing I don't use it for is cooked meats since I'm really not keen on cross contamination and more importantly, my cooked meats are always juicy and I need a moat so they don't go on the floor!

I also love to hack the hell out of it. I'm hoping in 10 to 15 years it will look like an actual butcher's block; I want the well used look. Who in the hell wants their kitchen to look sterile anyway? I love to cook and I want my kitchen to reflect that.

[Jinmyo]

Col, that block seems way too low to use comfortably and with full strength from what I can gather by the picture. Glad that you like it, though.

[col klink]

If I need to finely mince something then I need to stoop over, but that is a rare occasion. When I need to cut through bones the low height allows me to really put my weight over the knife. Until I get a decent cleaver, this is perfect. But really, I don't mind the low height and I rarely find myself stooping.

[ngatti]

Oh yeah! and another thing. I find butcher blocks too hard for general knife work (but a cleaver will definitely hurt them). I prefer the bite that the hard rubber boards give to your knife. The general wood prep boards give too much bite, IMO, hard acrylic, not enough. It's a matter of hair-splitting degree, but it works better for me.

Nick

[Fat Guy]

Nick, I like different boards for different purposes. I own some of almost every imaginable type. But the ones I reach for most often are the cheap-ass ($9.99 at Amazon) Polysafe 14"x17" boards. These go on my Corian countertops and are secured with, as Chef Matt suggests, damp towels. The fit right in my dishwasher on the extreme left and right edges of the bottom rack. They are similar in bite to hard rubber -- not the same, but also somewhere between wood and hard acrylic.

[ngatti]

Nick, I like different boards for different purposes. I own some of almost every imaginable type. But the ones I reach for most often are the cheap-ass ($9.99 at Amazon) Polysafe 14"x17" boards. These go on my Corian countertops and are secured with, as Chef Matt suggests, damp towels. The fit right in my dishwasher on the extreme left and right edges of the bottom rack. They are similar in bite to hard rubber -- not the same, but also somewhere between wood and hard acrylic.

Yeah, I tend to go the utiliatrian, "form follows function" look myself. But these blocks sure are pretty (particularly Klink's), however you still need a stable surface *under* them. Nothing wobbly.

Wet towels...Good truc. They'll also stabilize your board if used on a less than level surface.

Nick

[Niall]

I am in the use and sand when needed camp. Just don't sand it in the house. I have one. I use it for pretty much everything. If you don't want to sand it in a years time you can probably even get a nice new top for it.

The only thing to be careful of is leaving it wet. Because then it will warp and get ugly.

[JAZ]

Nick, I like different boards for different purposes. I own some of almost every imaginable type. But the ones I reach for most often are the cheap-ass ($9.99 at Amazon) Polysafe 14"x17" boards. These go on my Corian countertops and are secured with, as Chef Matt suggests, damp towels.

Since we're talking poly boards, Sur La Table now sells one with a backing of rubber for about $15 (11x14) -- it does mean you can only use one side, but you don't have bother with the damp towel.