hell fire grill
Meat Mopper
Hope you dont mind a first timer butting in here. From what I remember I read something on the internet about this some time ago, and now I cant find the site I saw it on. So I cant substanciate any of this right now. I beleive it said that wood was better than plastic from a sanitation point of view, because of the knife marks.
On a end grain wood board the fibers of the wood supposedly spread apart when the knife edge comes in contact with them. When the edge is removed they close back up and squeeze the bacteria,water,etc back out. Also these boards are better for your knives because the knife isent acctually cutting into the wood. That would be an end grain type cutting board/butcher block.
Cross grain boards, the most common, are very durable and alot cheaper to produce then the end grain type and is not immune to knife marks. And in my oppinion are still better than a plastic board. I've never had to scrub a wood board with a brush or scotch brite to clean it.
Plastic on the other hand gets the knife marks that are near impossible to clean with a brush or whatever. A dishwasher has a heck of a time with them. Just try slicing a briscut or a butt then look at all the smoke stuck in the grooves when you rinse it.
For my own purposes, aside from sanitation, I prefer the end grain type mainly because I do a fair amount of butchering of wild game, fish etc. and every time I fillet a fish, or debone roast, etc. on a plastic board the meat slides all over the place and so does the board. I dont like having to catch the same fish twice. Along with the fact that end grain boards wont dull a knife like the others. The biggest drawbacks being the weight and maintanance level, which are similar to a cast iron skillet. But thats a whole nother thread.
On a end grain wood board the fibers of the wood supposedly spread apart when the knife edge comes in contact with them. When the edge is removed they close back up and squeeze the bacteria,water,etc back out. Also these boards are better for your knives because the knife isent acctually cutting into the wood. That would be an end grain type cutting board/butcher block.
Cross grain boards, the most common, are very durable and alot cheaper to produce then the end grain type and is not immune to knife marks. And in my oppinion are still better than a plastic board. I've never had to scrub a wood board with a brush or scotch brite to clean it.
Plastic on the other hand gets the knife marks that are near impossible to clean with a brush or whatever. A dishwasher has a heck of a time with them. Just try slicing a briscut or a butt then look at all the smoke stuck in the grooves when you rinse it.
For my own purposes, aside from sanitation, I prefer the end grain type mainly because I do a fair amount of butchering of wild game, fish etc. and every time I fillet a fish, or debone roast, etc. on a plastic board the meat slides all over the place and so does the board. I dont like having to catch the same fish twice. Along with the fact that end grain boards wont dull a knife like the others. The biggest drawbacks being the weight and maintanance level, which are similar to a cast iron skillet. But thats a whole nother thread.
