Wood and finish for butcher’s equipment

[NDRiley]

Morning all, I’ve been asked by a local butcher to make a copy of the attached in solid wood. He uses it to beat his meat (no sniggering at the back) so I guess it’s some kind of tenderiser.

My question is what wood would you use and what (if any) finish would you apply?

The plastic (nylon?) version in the pic is 320mm long, 40mm thick and weighs just under 1kg. I was planning to use a handily sized offcut of oak which I already have

but other butcher’s equipment seems to be in beech so just wondering whether there are issues with using oak?

Many thanks

 

[Doug B]

Oak has tannins in it so not good for your job in hand plus it’s quite open grained like Ash.
Beech is probably the best choice that’s why it’s used much & would be my choice, if you were to finish it a food safe oil such as Chestnuts Food Safe Finish – Chestnut Products – First for Finishes

 

[Mike Jordan]

I was told many years ago that the only British timbers suitable and safe for food contact use are Beech and sycamore. Butchers cutting blocks are always made of beech in my experience.




A

 

[Argus]

Sycamore?

Traditionally used in the UK for treen in contact with food.

 

[--Tom--]

I was told many years ago that the only British timbers suitable and safe for food contact use are Beech and sycamore. Butchers cutting blocks are always made of beech in my experience.
A

Don’t forget the nut and fruit woods.

 

[TRITON]

I was told many years ago that the only British timbers suitable and safe for food contact use are Beech and sycamore. Butchers cutting blocks are always made of beech in my experience.
A

I'd opt for maple is you have some, or sycamore or even beech. But a very close grained timber.
Thing is though its likely going to be cleaned in hot soapy/bleachy water, so its unlikely a finish would last long.

Butchers blocks are maple or sycamore, the surround is beech.
Probably more sycamore in the UK than maple.
With blocks theres no glue, just stacked side to side and long steel bolts go through both directions to crank it together. If you look at a butchers block on the side you always see capped holes, its behind these the rods go through.
Then its all trimmed using your block plane, so named because that was its original function.


We used the flat of a cleaver. Bit of meat between two layers of cling, then flatten out.

 

[julianf]

I was told many years ago that the only British timbers suitable and safe for food contact use are Beech and sycamore. Butchers cutting blocks are always made of beech in my experience.




A

That will be why the whisky kills people then! : )

 

[topchippyles]

Use beech as that what his butchers block will be made of.

 

[Mike Jordan]

Fair point about the oak barrels, it's also common to char the inside of the barrels to impart that smokey taste. I dislike the taste but it is undoubtably popular, it raises the question of toxic content in the whisky.

 

[thetyreman]

+1 for beech or sycamore.

 

[NDRiley]

Thanks everyone for the advice - glad I asked! I like oak but seem to be using litte else at the moment so it will be good to have an excuse to use something different.

 

[gregmcateer]

Rather than a finish, once you've made it and sanded it, spray it with water or dunk it to raise the grain, let it dry and sand again - should stop it getting a 'fur' when washed after use

 

[AdrianUK]

When I was a youngster at college, had a Sat job at village butchers for 2 yrs, he taught me most of the trade, although for me it was just a means to an end whilst studying.
However, this is a ‘fat basher’, used to flatten beef fat (cod fat) from around the kidneys, into flat layers that’s wrapped around rolls of roasting beef, topside, silverside etc.
I remember back then they were made from timber, before the horrible nylon stuff crept in. I believe they were beech, and importantly all one solid piece, the key point is that the fat require a good amount of force to flatten. Hope this helps.

 

[TRITON]

Personally Ive never come across beech as a block, the ones I used were traditional butchers blocks, made by butcher block makers and made of maple.

The fact beech wasnt chosen might have more to do with the properties, as bitd beech was available but they used something else. Possibly the beech splits more when you hit it with the cleaver, or shrinks/expands more but I think if it werent the case they'd have made it from beech and not maple but they didnt and used maple.
I think the actual reasons are long lost in the mists of time.
Thinking on it, I wonder if water absorption has anything to do with it. and the cleaning, which is done with a wire brush that is made of thin flat stainless steel wires, rather than round.

For those unfamiliar with how to clean one, you'd use boiling water to soften the grease/blood, then put sawdust over the top ,then using the wire scraper to go back and forth for a god ten minutes, then dust off with a brush and give it another wipe with a wet cloth.
You learn quickly how to use a block scraper which is up and down rather than side to side as if side to side the scraper 'rolls over' and stabs you in the wrists. lol I learned that lesson pretty quickly

Nice to have a butchers question, as I worked as a time served butcher for just under 15 years post apprentiship, in shop,abattoir and wholesale.

I have found Teak on table tops, as in front of shop, and got a 12' long 2' wide 2" thick board just when I left the trade to retrain as a furniture maker. It was our front shop long shelf/table for displaying steak cuts. Changed it out for stainless and i was lucky the owner offered it to me for services rendered
Shame I cut that up actually, but ive some of it as drawer fronts/rears on one of my own pieces.


Possibly find beech is used is psudo 'butchers blocks' that are really just stacked off cuts you get in cooking shops because beech is really cheap.

 

[gcusick]

Fair point about the oak barrels, it's also common to char the inside of the barrels to impart that smokey taste. I dislike the taste but it is undoubtably popular, it raises the question of toxic content in the whisky.

The smoky flavour of some whiskies (some of the finest, IMHO) comes not from the charred barrels, but from the smoke from the peat fire used to dry the malt. The index of ‘smokiness’ is phenol content - a rather effective antibacterial. So I always view the consumption of well-peated malt whisky as essential medication!

 

[Mike Jordan]

Now you mention it I'm sure I've been told that before. Since I prefer my limited whisky consumption to be without the taste of chimney fires I had forgotten it. My favourite medication is Glenlivet.

 

[--Tom--]

This gives a quick overview- toasting or charring barrels isn’t for a smoky flavour, it’s to change the flavours coming from the oak or to add charcoal which will filter out some of the flavours from the spirit

https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/ask-the-professor/20468/why-are-whisky-casks-toasted-and-charred/

 

[gcusick]

Now you mention it I'm sure I've been told that before. Since I prefer my limited whisky consumption to be without the taste of chimney fires I had forgotten it. My favourite medication is Glenlivet.

Some years ago, on a visit to the Laphraoig distillery on Islay - one of the few distilleries that still does a substantial proportion of its own malting - one of the part asked the distillery’s Head Brewer, leading the tour, what was his favourite whisky. Rather than the expected “Laphraoig, of course”, he replied “Depends on the time of day.” So, there are times when a sharp, smoky whisky hits the spot - early in the evening is my view - and others - later, or if I want soothing - when the sweeter highland or lowland whiskies are what’s require.

I’m really not obsessed!

 

[leisurefix]

Just in case you're not aware, wood is antibacterial. Oak slightly more so than Maple or Beech, but as has been previously mentioned the tannins in Oak make it less suited. Sycamore is lighter in weight so not ideal. I would use Beech, although the medullary rays probably make it weaker (more likely to shear) than Hard Maple. Guess that's the reason Hard Maple is used, is fine grained & dense.

 

[NDRiley]

Morning All, just an update following the really helpful advice above. I went with maple in the end and made a couple of hand shaped tenderisers that the butcher client is very happy with.

And for the record I am more of an Islay man!