Retired, living in Western Mass. Enjoy music, cooking and my family.
Current cookers Weber Spirit 3 burner with a full insert griddle added. A 22" Kettle with vortex, SnS and a Smokey Joe. The most recent addition is a Pit Barrel Jr with bird hanger, 4 hooks and cover. ThermoWorks Smoke 2 probe, DOT, 2 ThermoPops and a Thermapen MK4. A Thermoworks RFX Gateway 2 probe meat thermometer.
I apologize if there was a previous post. I couldn't deal with scanning the entire thread. So, this evening I treated my boards as I noticed they were dry. I don't recall the last time I did this. I'm truly negligent. I'll attempt to be more diligent with this. I've added a picture of what I use. What's your take on maintaining your boards and what do you use?
Last edited by RichieB; February 25, 2026, 09:17 PM.
Pit Barrel Cooker
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Both of Meathead's books!
Way too many BBQ related accessories, tools, and doo-dads!
Retired, living in Western Mass. Enjoy music, cooking and my family.
Current cookers Weber Spirit 3 burner with a full insert griddle added. A 22" Kettle with vortex, SnS and a Smokey Joe. The most recent addition is a Pit Barrel Jr with bird hanger, 4 hooks and cover. ThermoWorks Smoke 2 probe, DOT, 2 ThermoPops and a Thermapen MK4. A Thermoworks RFX Gateway 2 probe meat thermometer.
Make sure it's Food grade mineral oil. BTW, Mama and Papa Joe (YouTube) just did a great video last week on cleaning and conditioning cutting boards. here's the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcfao9ixB4I
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
My boards get a “spa day” when they start looking long in the tooth, as it were. Scrub with mild soap and a nylon sponge. Rinse well, drain for a few and then towel dry. Let them air dry overnight and then they get a massage with a special sauce. Basically a food grade mineral oil and beeswax mix (I think, it was a gift). After that, they air dry again on cooling racks before getting put up.
Once a week (Sundays) at the old job, we scrubbed the block clean, towel dried and added salt. Next shift, we (me) scraped the salt off, then added some sort of board oil/fat stuff. Who cares, I got the best hand treatment ever. Loved Tuesday mornings!
I like the cooling rack idea. When I treat mine, I do one side on day and the other side the next day.. time consuming when you have 3 or 4 boards needing the treatment
I use several different wood boards. As the above posters mention, there are oils and pastes designed for wood. I have tried several different types of them and they all work well. I like to clean my boards with Dawn detergent to remove all the food oils. But that also dries out the wood.
Treating the boards once a month or so with a paste or food grade oil brings them right back. I favor end grain boards to preserve my fine edge knives that are mostly 15 degree edged Japanese steel. I also have a set of Wusthoff knives that are also 15 degree edges. The Asian edge knives cut wonderfully but are delicate.
I like the thin edges. I have sharpened my German knives to 15-degree edges and find that they work great even with the thinner edges. But I have a nice 20-degree edge saber sized German made knife for cutting up racks of ribs! It was my grandfather's and is over 100 years old. It is not stainless (high chromium steel knives weren't invented yet) so it needs to be washed and dried promptly. It is a joy to use. I hope the next generation takes good care of it. Maybe it can go 200 years!
I need to touch up my wood boards. I am using a tight grained bamboo and have had it for years. Prefer wood so my blade edges don't dull. Heard the warnings about the contaminants of wood but three generations and no one has had an issue. I also have a good set of knifes my son gave us for Xmas 20? years ago. Henckels. He was surprised I still had them. I said "Why not, they are good steel" and I know how to sharpen them the little they need it.
I have always heard that wood boards are safer than plastic because bacteria doesn't like the pH of most wood. I searched on fooodhandler.com and found this:
"Wood cutting boards are generally safe, and studies suggest they are often more hygienic than plastic because their natural antimicrobial properties and grain structure trap bacteria, causing them to die. For maximum safety, use dense hardwoods like maple or walnut, and avoid porous woods like oak."
Maybe I shouldn't admit this but I've had the same cutting board now almost 50 years and have never treated my board. Give it a good washing and put it away. Looks good, no issues. Don't go too hard on me I'm very sensitive.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
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I need to start treating my boards better. I had one that split due to my neglect; I have another that is starting to go. That is one reason I use cheap boards. I have a couple that were gifts and I don't use them lol.
I use plastic boards exclusively for poultry though. I am kind of paranoid about poultry juices soaking into wooden boards. I even have a couple of chefs knives that I use on the plastic; they aren't reserved for that purpose, but I don't use my better knives on the plastic boards. Overkill?
Thank you Kevin! I was starting to think I was a misfit. I use plastic 100% of the time. I have a beautiful cutting board that the kids got me. It’s on display in the kitchen. When my boards start looking too rough I order more from Walmart. Almost all my knives are Victorinox now. The boards don’t seam to hurt the edge.
i just saw a video on this. the best treatment is...none. leave it raw. the wood in the cutting board is more hygienic when it can do it's thing without oils in the way
Thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole. Now I want to throw the plastic cutting boards I use for poultry away and find a solid end grain maple cutting board. I keep saying that with friends like you guys…
Treating isn't for sanitary reasons. It's to maintain the integrity of the wood. Over time they can dry out and crack. This has happened on 2 of mine. It's my fault as I wasn't maintaining as I should have. I find it helpful. Please do what works for you.
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