How to clean a big butcher block?
I've seen huge butchers blocks that essentially is a table with a butcher block top. How do you clean such a thing if you can't wash it in the sink? Should those blocks only be used for vegetables and not meat because it can get messy and hard to clean (oil and 'juices')?
Best Answer
You can certainly cut meat on these, I have a large end-grain cutting board that is too large to wash conveniently in my sink.
There are a number of methods to clean them:
Soap and Water
Soap and hot water are best for regular cleaning. Just get a rag or brush and scrub it. Dish soap is just fine for this use. Make sure to rinse and dry it thoroughly.
Vinegar
If you don't mind the smell you can use undiluted white vinegar to clean and sanitize your surface. If you keep some in a spray bottle you can just spray it down and wipe it with a paper towel. If you have a big oily mess, I'd suggest starting with the soap & water method, and finishing up with vinegar.
Vinegar is apparently very effective at killing microbes, surprisingly more effective than harsher quaternary ammonium solutions.
Bleach
A little goes a long way with this. You only need a teaspoon or two for a quart of water. Just spray it down thoroughly, let stand 5 minutes. Finish with rinsing and drying. Like vinegar this is best as a followup to soap & water for a really messy board.
Lemon
If you have strong garlic, onion, fish, or other smells in your butcher block you can cut a lemon in half and rub the board down with the halves. Lemon juice is a weak antiseptic, so this should be used primarily for odor control and not as a sanitization substitute.
Note that regular cleaning also requires regular seasoning of your block surface. You should oil your board/block once a week, or more with frequent use.
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Quick Answer about "How to clean a big butcher block?"
Scrape off any caked-on dirt and wipe away crumbs. Next, add a few drops of dish soap to a wet sponge, and give the butcher block a good scrub. Scrubbing along the grain of the wood will make the countertops cleaner. Rinse the sponge, and wipe the counter down with the rinsed sponge.What do you clean butchers block with?
Food residue may be scraped away with a smooth, flat, and ideally plastic spatula, and the surface should be sponged off with only mild-dishwashing soap. Undiluted vinegar, by the by, works great for cleaning and disinfecting butcher block, and this type of vinegar does not leave behind a strong, pungent odor.How do you clean a built in butcher block?
Regardless, for everyday cleaning, I keep a spray bottle filled with a quart of water that has 3/4 of a teaspoon of chlorine bleach mixed in, which is a standard restaurant kitchen sanitizing liquid. After I use the butcher block, I spray it down, let it sit for a minute, and then wipe off.How do you make old butcher block look new?
While wood has anti-bacterial properties, you should still disinfect a butcher block countertop. After you've cleaned it off, spray a mixture of white vinegar and water on the surface, spread it around with a damp cloth, let it soak in for a minute or two, and then wipe it off.How To Clean Butcher Block Countertops | Southern Living
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Answer 2
Professionally you scatter the surface with sawdust and then 'scrub' the surface (dry) with a metal brush. This takes off the top surface and removes any blood, etc, which is why if you see an old butchers block or one that has been in good use it will be worn down considerably. In a domestic setting I suppose that would be more difficult (but by no means impossible). Vinigar is an excellent cleaner, as Hobodave and Yossarian said, but I wouldn't use bleach on a butchers block, or wood in general really. Better for plastic chopping boards if you are going to use it.
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