Knowing the perfect cutting board to cut your fish could have significance in a cooking process, irrespective of if you get seafood from the supermarket or you are a fisherperson. The most important factors you should consider when you want to choose cutting boards for fish are hygiene and stability. You might want to ask the best sets of cutting boards you should use for filleting and cleaning fish.
The easiest and safest cutting board to prepare and cut raw fish will be a good quality, a non-scarred cutting board that has a good texture as well as a good grip. We have listed our favorites below with some advice you may need when you want to choose the perfect cutting board to use to cut your fish and how you should also maintain it.
The Best Materials To Use For Cutting Boards
Just before we move into the full details of our best five cutting boards used for cutting fish, you should understand our reasons for choosing one cutting board over the other. Every cutting board has been made differently and some of them are better used for certain functions than others. Our opinion is that you only have one material you can select from whenever you want to prepare your fish.
Plastic
Because plastic is inexpensive, durable, and most times dishwasher safe, it is the best material you should consider when you are getting your cutting board. More importantly, if you care well for your plastic cutting board, it will resist all the bacteria that might want to stay on it and also protect you from foodborne illnesses.
As time goes by, your knife will scar the board, creating grooves within the plastic, the board will begin to harbor bacteria. This means that you need to ensure that you only use non-damaged, good quality boards to cut any of your raw animal products, fish inclusive.
Using plastic boards could make things hard for your knives, however, they have a wonderful texture that can grab the fish and will help to make more efficient dice and slice. Overall, although there are some drawbacks associated with it, plastic is still the best you can get when you want to buy your fish cutting boards.
Cutting Boards To Avoid Using For Seafood
Whenever you want to select the perfect materials for your cutting boards, the key is in the safety and some cutting boards could be dangerous to use for certain things. You need to try and avoid using the following when you are working with a fish meal:
Bamboo or Wood
There was a time when some misinformation was circulating the internet concerning bamboo and wood cutting boards being naturally antibacterial, however, this is not correct. Wood has been discovered to be porous and that means bacteria from your raw meat and fish will be absorbed within it easily and will still remain even after you wash it. This could eventually lead to food poisoning if you use your board to slice something like salad or bread.
Glass
Though glass may not be porous and could be easily cleaned, however, they cause a lot of trouble than can be imagined. They are hard and slippery on knives and they could also be loud. It is better to avoid using a glass cutting board for anything.
Best Cutting Boards For Slicing Fish
You are now familiar with those things to watch out for in the cutting boards that you will use to plan your seafood dish. Let’s check out our top favorite options and brands:
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Boone Fast Feat Bucket Board
This particular cutting board is versatile because it could double as a seat. It is quite perfect for people who love to catch whatever they cook.
Key features:
- It can be used as a seat and it holds up to a weight of 250lb without any problem.
- A built-in ruler comes with it and can be used to measure your fish about 17 inches and can also store a knife.
- Cutting and cleaning of fish is made easy and quick by using this particular cutting board which can set on 2, 4, 5, or 6-gallon buckets.
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CounterArt Chop Chop Food Service Grade Flexible Cutting Mat
This particular one is designed for its size and flexibility.
Key features:
- It is protected by a built-in micro ban and that means it defends against stain and odor-causing bacteria actively.
- It is commercial-grade, making it easy to be used inside your food truck.
- 20 inches x 30 inches surface that helps to fillet your fish.
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OXO Good Grips Cutting and Carving Board
The cutting board has tapered edges that allow it to be lifted very simply. At times, the smallest properties make the hugest difference.
Key features:
- The board resists deep scratches that could help to maintain your knives’ integrity.
- The board is made from a durable polypropylene that is not porous, meaning any bacteria will not be accommodated.
- The board has double sides and the feet of one side are non-slip, helping the board to be stable and the second side has a juice groove that helps to contain leaked runoff from the fish.
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Commercial Plastic Cutting Board for Kitchens, Extra Large
This particular cutting board works for prepping jobs such as filleting fish. It is a commercial-grade cutting board that is considered extra-large.
Key features:
- FDA and NSF approved and it means it is safe to use by commercial kitchens.
- The surface is textured and it helps to add a grip to prevent slipping of the fish too much as you try to get the right fillet.
- The board will likely last for a very long time without scarring, warping, or staining because it is made with special poly that has a high density.
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Rapala Poly Fillet Board w/ Clamp
Keeping the whole or fresh-caught fish in a place as you work is a tricky part of filleting and cleaning your fish. This particular cutting board is from a handy clamp and it will help you to easily and quickly use it.
Key features:
- It can be easily cleaned and transported thanks to its handy cut out handle.
- It has a length that can handle fish of about 21 inches.
- Slippery fish can be held while you are working thanks to its heavy-duty clamp.
- There are grooves at the bottom which allows it to securely sit on 4 or 5 or 6-gallon types of buckets, making it perfect for descaling and cleaning.
- It is made for durability and safety thanks to being a high-quality, food-grade HDPE plastic.
Tips For Maintaining Cutting Boards
You need to ensure that your cutting board can last for a long time once you have found a perfect one for filleting and cleaning your fish.
Color Coding
If you want to add a hygienic security level to the kitchen, get for yourself a standard color-coded set of cutting boards. This is to help you avoid any cross-contamination. Professional kitchens also use this particular technique. Seafood will go excellently well with blue. It is much easier if you want to pick a blue cutting board rather than a yellow or green board than it will be to reach out for boards that are slightly different in sizes. You could dedicate a board for your unique ingredients like dairy, poultry, seafood, meats, veggies, and fruits for easy use in the kitchen.
Wash Sufficiently And Frequently
Most of the plastic cutting boards can be washed inside the dishwasher, but you should ensure to double-check before placing them in so that you can avoid unfortunate situations caused by melting.
Ensure they are sanitized carefully by scrubbing them inside the sink to remove any particles gotten from the raw meat or raw before you then place them in the cycle of the dishwasher. In case you want to hand-wash, ensure you use a lot of soap to scrub them well, and use hot water to rinse them. The boards should always be stood up to allow to dry.
On another hand, you should always hand wash wood cutting boards because using a dishwasher to wash it will most likely warp your wood and will not make the cutting board convenient for use any longer. You must understand that your hot water doesn’t kill germs, most especially if it is a temperature you could deep hands in. Use a quality dishwashing soap to wash the cutting boards any time you want to.
Related Questions
What is the best cutting board for vegetables?
Bamboo or wood cutting boards will be perfect for your vegetables or any other thing that you can eat raw. They are easier on knives than the plastic boards and they are extremely durable. However, wood cutting boards should not be dipped into the dishwasher because they will likely warp. Wood should be specifically used for vegetables, keep them from raw seafood or meats because they could incubate bacteria.
What is the best cutting board for meat?
If you wish to cut your raw meats, use a plastic cutting board. They are easily available, durable, and most time dishwasher safe. Ensure they are replaced once they become too scarred because broken plastic could allow bacteria to have a safe place to dwell.
