As the name implies, a butcher’s block was originally a tool used by a butcher. The block is made of wood, commonly sugar maple, that has been stuck together to form a thick block for cutting meat. The best butcher block is invariably made from hard woods.
Butchers blocks can be made with the wood grain perpendicular to the top of the block (end grain) or with the grain of the wood parallel to the top of the block (edge grain). Both methods make a durable butcher block, although end grain is to be preferred.
Although they are more difficult to make and therefore more expensive, the end grain butcher’s block is the better block. It will keep cleavers sharper longer than other cutting boards. In addition, the block is very tough and long lasting. Repeated blows by meat cleavers do little to harm these blocks. If the surface becomes chipped or damaged, the block can easily be refinished with little of the overall thickness taken away from the block. This invariably makes the best chopping board.
Edge grain blocks are made of rails of woos that may be full length or jointed in construction. While these blocks are also durable, they are less durable than blocks constructed with the end grain exposed.
Up until the 1880s, butcher cut meat on tree rounds, which were a section of a tree trunk that was set on legs. These predecessors of the butcher’s block would often crack and meat waste and blood could collect in these cracks to form a breeding ground for bacteria. The stuck construction of the butchers block makes cracking much less likely. Maple provides the right hardness for durability, yet is not so hard as to dull knife blades. Even with today’s high standards, butchers blocks are considered sanitary.
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