The Best Cutting Boards for a Thanksgiving Turkey
Posted by Grant Chen on 17th Oct 2024
It's that time of season again, Thanksgiving! A time both of joy, celebration and of course, a traditional turkey feast for friends and family. While most Thanksgiving participants simply have to show up with an appetite, the chef has a slightly more complicated role of satisfying a room full of hungry mouths, entertaining a cadre guests and tending to the kitchen turned command center.
As if cooking the turkey wasn't hard enough, the presentation is the grand finale, where the magician makes the reveal by slicing into the turkey. At this point, the audience has been stoked by hours of anticipation and will give a chorus of "Ooohs!" and "Ahhhs!" upon seeing succulent juices flow out of a perfectly roasted turkey... or give pained, overly polite smiles when the host hopelessly struggles with carving the meat, making a mess of the dish.
So rather than letting hours of cooking go to waste, one of the best ingredients for a Thanksgiving feast is an ample sized cutting board or butcher block. With the average turkey size increasing each year, it's important to always over-estimate rather than under-estimate. A larger board not only provides a much needed cutting area, but the size and volume of the juice groove is important as well. Some methods of cooking, such as deep frying, can create a delicious but extremely juicy bird, which can often overrun your normal cutting board or carving board.
Here's our rough guide to the size of cutting board needed vs turkey weight:
| Turkey Weight | Minimum Dimensions | Cutting Boards |
| Up to 12 pounds | 18" x 11" x 0.5" |
John Boos BBQ w Juice Groove (18 x 12 x 1.5 inch) John Boos RA Board with Juice Groove (20 x 15 x 2.25 inch) |
| Up to 18 Pounds | 20" x 13" x 1.0" |
Proteak End Grain Rectangle w/ Handles (20 x 14 x 2.5 inch) John Boos Reversible w/ Maple Grips (20 x 15 x 1.5 inch) Larch Wood Large Classic (21.5 x 13.5 x 1.75 inch) |
| Up to 25 Pounds | 24" x 15" x 1.5" |
Proteak Edge Grain w/ Juice Groove and Handle (24 x 18 x 1.5 inch) John Boos Maple with Handles and Juice Groove (24 x 18 x 2.25 inch) John Boos Premium Carving Board (24 x 18 x 1.5 inch) Larch Wood Carves Board w/ Juice Groove (24 x 15 x 2 inch) |
If you plan on serving the turkey on the cutting board itself, we highly recommend a juice groove or catch tray unless you plan on cleaning up a potential mess afterward. Most of the boards we have listed above have a juice groove or tray and the difference in price is fairly nominal between a grooved and non-grooved board.
John Boos, one of the most famous names in butcher blocks, has some products which are specifically designed for turkeys and other roasts:
John Boos Premium Carving Board: The ultimate carving board, note the spikes in the middle, which help keep the turkey in place for carving, as well as three juice funnels that run to an outside groove that drips into the catch tray. Great for even the biggest, most succulent turkey. At 24" x 18", this is big enough more most all big birds.
John Boos Au Jus Maple Board: Extra wide juice grooves help channel liquids away and the extra large surface makes slicing, de-boning or other knife work much easier. Extra large 24" x 18" surface.
John Boos RA Board with Juice Groove: Similar to the Au Jus board, the RA board is an extra thick cutting board at 2.25 inches that has a deep juice groove, but a smaller board footprint of 20" x 15".
Proteak End Grain Rectangle with Handles: Proteak, another great cutting board maker, has this beautiful teak board with handles and a juice groove as well. This end grain design is a beautiful show piece and also ensures you can chop and butcher on this board without worry.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone and remember, shop now and save.
