Can You Cut Raw Chicken on a Wood Cutting Board?

Last Updated on October 10, 2021 by

In the kitchen, cutting boards are indispensable. They safeguard your counters by serving as a cutting surface for chicken, vegetables, seafood, and other foods. Wooden cutting boards, in particular, are strong, durable, and gentle on knife blades.

However, you may be unsure whether it is permissible to cut raw and cooked chicken on the same cutting board. We’ve looked into it so you can proceed with confidence in finding out the answer to the question “can you cut raw chicken on a wood cutting board?”

How Can You Cut Raw Chicken on a Wood Cutting Board?

You might think it doesn’t matter what you use to prep ingredients for cooking, but if you’ve ever asked yourself, “Should I use a wood or plastic cutting board?” Would you mind taking our advice? Your decision is indeed significant.

First and foremost, what are you chopping? There are no tough and quick rules dictating that chicken goes on plastic, vegetables go on wood, serrated knives go on plastic, butcher’s cleavers go on wood, and so on. It’s more about convenience and food safety than anything else.

Why choose Wood Cutting Boards?

Wooden cutting boards are excellent for both vegetables and proteins but not all proteins. Preparing chicken on a wooden cutting board isn’t really a good idea as bacteria will settle into the wood grain and be challenging to get rid of. For this reason, clean-washing plastic boards are preferable for chicken and fish, and if you’re cutting an onion or smashing a few cloves of garlic, plastic is also preferable. The smell does not penetrate as deeply into plastic and is thus easier to remove.

Stick with wood for tough vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes. The thicker and sturdier the surface of the cutting board, the better the grips when cutting raw chicken. The wood’s solid surface ensures for a cleaner cut than the usual textured plastic or synthetic cutting board. However, provided you practice the proper food safety, the material of your cutting board is less important than your knife’s sharpness and prep skills.

How to Select the Best Cutting Board for Raw Chicken

While shopping for the best cutting board for chicken, keep several vital factors in mind. These factors include the materials in making the cutting board, its size and shape, the type of knives you’ll use with it, its versatility, and the unique qualities of every board, like the presence of juice grooves and handles. Continue reading this section if you want to learn more about each of these factors to always remember or have in mind whenever you look for the best cutting board for you.

1. Material

Plastic cutting boards are frequently more sanitary than wooden ones, but studies have shown this is not the case. However, it is critical to carefully and thoroughly clean wooden cutting boards when cutting and preparing chicken products. Hand-washing, a wooden cutting board, is required, and you should use an appropriately diluted ammonia-based solution. Plastic cutting boards have the added benefit of being dishwasher safe, making them easy to clean. In addition, wooden cutting boards are thought to be far more attractive than plastic.

Bamboo cutting boards are stiffer and less porous than other hardwoods. Bamboo is naturally more resistant to bacterial growth than other woods because it absorbs little moisture and resists knife scoring. Any wooden board can be made to last longer and look better by using the right conditioning oil. Selecting a cutting board made of ceramic or glass is not a good idea because these materials will quickly dull your knives.

1. Size and Shape

The most popular or typical cutting board shape you can find is a rectangle. A rectangular board’s straight edges make it much easier to grip and transport than a disk. Straight edges are also helpful in moving chickens or vegetables from the board to a pot or pan. The size of any standard cutting board you can find and use in your kitchen is 18-inches by 12-inches. Although, professional chefs are popularly known utilize larger cutting boards that are 24-inches by 18-inches in size.

Whatever the cutting board size you decide to go for will be dependent on your personal preference and the type of chicken you intend to prepare. For example, a small board will most likely suffice for frequent meals for one person.

1. Knives

Having the best kitchen knives is crucial for a well-functioning kitchen and cooking the best dishes possible. It is equally important to keep those knives as sharp and well-maintained as possible. Because a cutting board and knives go hand in hand, they play an essential role in the success of your meal preparation.

If your cutting board is too soft, you run the risk of scoring or cutting permanent grooves into it. These grooves become ideal places for raw chicken particles to become lodged or raw juices to become trapped. In either case, a cutting board used for raw chicken preparation can serve as a breeding ground for bacteria. This contamination usually causes an unpleasant odor on the board or, in the worst-case scenario, a source of food poisoning. If the cutting board is produced from a super hard material, such as glass, marble, or ceramic, your knife blades will become dull or even damaged fast.

1. Juice Groove

Nobody enjoys a cluttered kitchen. Getting yourself a clean surface to work on will  help you in making meal preparation and cleanup a lot more easier and quicker. The chopping and dicing of different cuts of chicken will inevitably generate some juice and debris. You must separate cartilage and tendon fibers from the chicken. Fat and chicken skin are frequently removed by those watching their cholesterol intake.

1. Versatility

The overall versatility of a cutting board is a popular feature. Most people think of a cutting board for food preparation, but you can also use it for various other purposes.

When displaying a roast or a platter from the grill, whether at a dinner table or a buffet table, it is critical to have a sturdy and dependable cutting board below the chicken to prevent damaging the table, staining the surface, or destroying your knives.

You can also utilize a cutting board to serve crudites, cheese, and deli chickens as a presentation platter. A cutting board is an appropriate way of presenting a larger charcuterie board, which can include bread and crackers, dried and fresh fruits, nuts, and even chocolate in addition to the chickens, cheeses, and crudites. Although any cutting board must safeguard your table and counter surfaces from cuts and heat damage in these situations, you should also consider a cutting board’s elegance and style.

1. Single Board vs. Set

Kitchen space appears to be at a premium all the time. Whenever your countertop becomes super cluttered with appliances and other items, you may feel like you don’t have enough room to prepare a meal. While a cutting board is an essential tool for meal preparation, it can also take up counter space. Buying a set of cutting boards in various sizes lets you divide your available space and prioritize your meal preparation needs accordingly.

On the other hand, a single cutting board can suffice for most kitchens and meal preparation needs. If the board is double-sided, you could double your available work surface. However, it is critical to keep a separate cutting board for chicken from one used for other foods, mainly raw fruits and vegetables. Consider utilizing a cutting board that features a unique appearance or style for chicken to prevent cross-contamination by accident.

How to Sanitize a Wood Cutting Board

We are all aware of the way it is necessary to sanitize a wood cutting board after each use, but how do you do it? Let’s take a glance at a few of the different approaches.

1. Dish Soap

You can utilize regular dish soap and hot water when you are cleaning wooden cutting boards. Using a scrubbing brush, vigorously rub a small amount of dish soap on one side of the board. Rinse thoroughly with hot water after completing the other side. After that, the cutting board can get dried with paper towels or left to air dry in the dish drainer.

1. Vinegar

Vinegar is a natural disinfectant that you are to utilize whenever you have it in mind to kill germs that are lying around on the surface of your cutting board in a matter of seconds. In your kitchen sink, combine four parts water and one part white vinegar and dunk a few times. Then, use hot water in rinsing and dry it with a towel or air-dry.

1. Bleach

Germs on your cutting board can get eliminated by adding a small amount of bleach to hot water. In the kitchen sink, combine the bleach and water and soak the cutting board for a few minutes, or dampen a cloth with the bleach solution and wipe down both sides of the cutting board.

Best Wood Cutting Board to Cut Raw Chicken to Try

1. Royal Craft Wood Extra Large Organic Bamboo Cutting Board With Juice Groove

Royal Craft Wood’s knife-friendly cutting board features a high-quality bamboo design and brings style and functionality to the kitchen. The tough bamboo fibers are tough enough to prevent bacteria from growing in grooves on the surface. They are, however, soft enough to keep your best knives from becoming dulled or damaged. Bamboo is a more durable material for cutting boards than most other woods. It also features natural antibacterial properties and is environmentally friendly, which is vital for long-term sustainability.

The 10-by-15-inch reversible board is the perfect size for almost any kitchen countertop. It has handy side handles and a deep juice groove for catching liquids from cooked or raw chicken. Alternatively, this classy organic bamboo cutting board can be utilized to chop vegetables, slice loaves of bread, or as a serving tray for crudites or a fancy barbecue platter. Click here to see on Amazon

1. Sonder Los Angeles, Large Multipurpose Cutting Board

Sonder Los Angeles’ 17-inch by the 13-inch wooden cutting board is edge grain constructed, which exposes the rings of the wood, giving the board a stunning, classic look and more durability and resistance to unwanted moisture and stains. Each board is handcrafted and assembled by highly skilled woodworkers before being finished with food-grade mineral oil. The walnut, cherry, and maple hardwoods utilized in making this cutting board make an appealing surface for serving meats and other foods and are also better suited for meat processing.

This cutting board can also be used on both sides. Either side is ideal for chopping or prepping, but one side has a built-in multipurpose well for catching veggies as you slice or holding crackers when the board doubles as a serving platter for meats and cheeses. This board’s indented handles on both ends make it simple to transport and hand-wash. Click here to see on Amazon

Conclusion on Can You Cut Raw Chicken on a Wood Cutting Board

Raw chicken poses cutting board difficulties that fruits, vegetables, and bread do not. Food safety should be top of mind when preparing chicken, especially raw chicken, and it all begins with your cutting board. Furthermore, no one intends to carve and serve a delicious roast on a shabby cutting board that leaks all over the table.

Raw and cooked chicken can get cut on wooden cutting boards safely. They are long-lasting, environmentally friendly, and give a soft cutting surface to help your knives last longer. Wooden cutting boards are important kitchen tools that will last for years if properly cleaned and cared for.