We Tested 11 Carving Boards—These 5 Are Worthy of Your Turkey

Do you need a carving board? Let me answer that with an anecdote. My partner recently roasted a chicken and carved it on our regular cutting board. Halfway through dinner, I noticed my dog stationed in the kitchen, furiously licking up a steady stream of chicken fat that was dripping from the board onto the floor. With a carving board, my dog wouldn’t have been as happy, but I could have ended the night without mopping.

While you could use a regular ol’ cutting board to slice tenderloin and portion a turkey, a carving board will serve you better. Good carving boards have a groove around their edges to catch juice. We wanted to find the best carving boards for holiday roasts and beyond, so we tested 11 boards made from a variety of wood types. After slicing pork and carving chicken, we found five carving boards that worked beautifully—and looked great doing it.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Carving Board

The Boardsmith Maple End-Grain Cutting Board

View on Theboardsmith.com

This board has been the reigning champ for years. It’s thick, durable, beautiful, and impeccably crafted. Feet give the board height and stability, pre-treated maple wood adds beauty and protects knives, and a generous trench keeps juices contained.

Another Great Carving Board

Virginia Boys Kitchens Walnut Wood Cutting Board

$204 at Amazon View on Virginiaboyskitchens.com

This board lacks feet, but offers much of the same appeal as the Boardsmith Carving Board for less cash. The dark finish hides knife marks and stains, and its large size (18 by 24 inches) makes it a smart choice for large roasts like ham or turkey.

The Best Budget Carving Board

Yes4All Teak Cutting Board

$70

$56 at Amazon

This is the most affordable carving board we recommend, and it’s one of the most durable, too. Teak is naturally moisture-resistant, so I feel confident saying that, if treated properly, the Yes4All board will last for years. It has an attractive pattern and is reversible. It’d also make a great cheese board.

The Best Grippy Carving Board

Lipper International Acacia Cutting Board with Grid Grip

$68

$53 at Amazon $49 at Wayfair

The Lipper International board has a grippy grid in its center which is perfect for keeping slippery roasts in place. It’s a little smaller than we typically recommend, but it’d work great for carving tableside and transferring meat onto a serving platter as you go.

Editor’s Pick

John Boos 24x18 inch Reversible Maple Wood Cutting Board with Juice Groove

$175

$163 at Amazon $175 at Target $160 at Sur La Table

This edge-grain cutting board is my personal favorite. It had the widest juice trench of any board we tested. Plus, it’s a hefty 12 pounds, which gave it stability when we used it to slice meat. 

The Tests

• Juice Well Test: We wanted to determine how much liquid each carving board could hold. To do so, we poured half a cup of water into the center of the board and observed whether it pooled or moved to the juice groove. We also noted whether the groove could hold the entire half-cup or if it ran over the sides.
• Pork Loin Test: We used one of our favorite slicing knives to portion a just-cooked pork loin. Afterwards, we washed the boards. This test helped us determine how well the boards handled a large piece of meat and whether they dulled knives during repeated slicing.
• Whole Chicken Test: Could the carving boards handle a just-cooked whole chicken (and all its juices)? We placed one chicken on each cutting board and used a carving knife to portion it into four pieces. This gave us data on how well the juice trenches worked and whether the board’s size was sufficient for carving.
• Usability and Cleanup Tests: How user-friendly were the boards to use? Extra-large boards are nice to work on but can be difficult to wash. The best ones struck a balance somewhere in the middle.
  

What We Learned

Don’t Bother with Plastic Carving Boards

Plastic carving boards exist, but wood is the way to go. Plastic is slick and causes meat (especially hot or juicy things, like a roasted chicken) to slide all over the board. And while plastic can be tossed in the dishwasher, it doesn’t offer any other advantages. Wood is more durable, too. Our team recommends replacing plastic cutting boards as soon as they show scratches, gouges, and other signs of wear. The cost adds up if you’re also replacing large plastic carving boards regularly.

Bigger Boards Were Better

You really can’t go too big when it comes to carving boards. This was confirmed when we realized that The Boardsmith we ordered for testing was its Butcher size, 12 by 18 inches. That’s way too small to hold a chicken or turkey and have space to lay cut or sliced pieces on the side. We’ve tested larger versions of The Boardsmith in previous reviews, however, and know those sizes are big enough to get the job done. The two biggest boards we recommend are the Virginia Boys Walnut Wood Cutting Board and the Yes4All Durable Teak Cutting Board. Those are both 18 by 24 inches. 

But “big” is measured by weight and height, too. The Boardsmith took the cake when it came to height. At two inches without the optional feet, it’s the tallest board we tested. That gave it the necessary heft and stability. We were confident it wouldn’t slip, even when slicing pork tenderloin.

Extra Features Were Worth the Upgrade

The only feature a carving board needs to have is a juice trench. But the boards we liked best sported more add-ons, like handles or recessed grooves on the sides for carrying. Reversible boards were more versatile. Pretty patterns turned a utilitarian workhorse into something you’ll want to show off at your next dinner party or holiday meal.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Carving Board

The best carving boards are made from wood. They're also big. They should have enough surface area to carve a large roast and lay out sliced pieces. Thick and heavy boards won't spin around as you cut. A deep juice trench (the deeper the better, really) will keep mess contained. Add-ons, like stabilizing feet and finger grooves, add value.

Our Favorite Carving Boards

The Best Carving Board

The Boardsmith Maple End-Grain Cutting Board

View on Theboardsmith.com

What we liked: Simply put, this is the best-quality carving board we tested. We’ve recommended it for years, and it stood up to our most recent round of tests. The board arrives pre-treated (it’s soaked in a mineral oil bath and slathered with board butter), so it arrives in your kitchen well-conditioned and ready to work. The juice trench was deep enough to accommodate all the runoff from the just-roasted chicken without any overflow. This board can be ordered with feet, which lift the board and promote airflow. This keeps the board dry and mildew-free. Feet also kept this board stable during the pork tenderloin test: It didn’t slip or slide once. Be sure to carefully review all of the customizable options when you check out, to ensure you’ve got the exact board you want.

What we didn’t like: The model we tested was on the small side (the Butcher Cut), but The Boardsmith offers two larger Cuts: the Carolina (16 x 22 inches) and the Big Block (18 x 24 inches).

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 12 x 18 x 2 inches
• Weight: 11 pounds
• Material: Maple
• Juice groove depth: 0.5 inches

Another Great Carving Board

Virginia Boys Kitchens Walnut Wood Cutting Board

$204 at Amazon View on Virginiaboyskitchens.com

What we liked: This spacious board was tied with the Yes4All in terms of usable surface area. It’s a fantastic choice for large cuts of meat and carving tableside; when we tested it, we had plenty of room to slice and set down portioned slices of pork or chicken. It’s visually striking, thanks to dark walnut wood. (It’s also available in maple.)

What we didn’t like: The Virginia Boys Board was a half-inch shorter than our other top picks, giving it a little less visual oomph. It’s lighter weight than other boards, too, which caused it to slide around the counter a bit while we were carving the chicken. There are no handles or finger grooves to assist in lifting and carrying.

Key Specs

• Weight: 9 pounds
• Dimensions: 24 x 18 x 1 inches
• Material: Walnut
• Reversible: Yes

The Best Budget Carving Board

Yes4All Teak Cutting Board

$70

$56 at Amazon

What we liked: This was one of the larger carving boards we tested, making it ideal for holiday roasts, ham, and whole turkey. It has finger grooves and a decently deep juice trench. It’s reversible and has an attractive checkerboard pattern, making it a multipurpose board I (and you?) would be happy to use in place of a traditional charcuterie board. It’s the most affordable carving board we recommend and one of our favorite regular cutting boards.

What we didn’t like: Teak, while naturally more water-resistant than other woods (like maple and acacia), is tougher on knives. You may have to sharpen yours more often if you use this board regularly. The smaller pieces of end-grain wood result in more seams, which means more weak points in the board. It’s heavy and large, so moving it around was unwieldy. 

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 24 x 18 x 1.5 inches
• Weight: 15.5 pounds
• Material: Teak
• Juice groove depth: 0.4 inches

The Best Grippy Carving Board

Lipper International Acacia Cutting Board with Grid Grip

$68

$53 at Amazon $49 at Wayfair

What we liked: Using this board to carve slippery roasted chicken gave us confidence! The pyramidal grips in the center of the board are intended to grab onto meat and hold it in place as you carve and slice—and the design works. The grippy grid also directs juices into the trench, which makes carving much neater. It’s the board I’d want to have if I were carving a bird or ham tableside, because it’d keep the mess contained. It captured over a cup of liquid!

What we didn’t like: It’s not as versatile as the other boards we recommend, and it spun slightly on the countertop when we used it to carve chicken. Cleaning it took a while, because bits of chicken skin got stuck in the grooves.

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 20 x 5 x 1 inches
• Weight: 5.5 inches
• Material: Acacia
• Juice groove depth: 0.5 inches

Editor’s Pick

John Boos 24x18 inch Reversible Maple Wood Cutting Board with Juice Groove

$175

$163 at Amazon $175 at Target $160 at Sur La Table

What we liked: This heavy board is durable and thoughtfully designed, with two sides (one with a half-inch juice groove and the other smooth). Recessed finger grips make it easy to lift and move it, even with a whole chicken on top. During the chicken test, we appreciated how effortlessly juice flowed into the trenches, which never became overfilled. The maple wood is gentle on knives—our slicing knife didn’t dull at all. Boos Boards are made to last for decades with proper care, like regular oiling and never submerging them in water.

What we didn’t like: This board would be even better, although more expensive, if it were made with end-grain wood, not edge-grain. (End-grain wood is cut lengthwise, which makes it easier on knives and more durable. For a deep dive on the differences between end- and edge-grain boards, check out our cutting boards review.)

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 20 x 15 x 1.5 inches
• Weight: 12 pounds
• Material: Maple wood
• Juice groove depth: 0.5 inches

The Competition

• Crate & Barrel Acacia Wood Cutting Board: This was a solid performer, and worth a second look if you’re on the hunt for a very affordable option. But its juice grooves were shallower than the other boards we tested, and the slim handles weren't very helpful.
• Teakhaus Edge Grain Carving Board: This teak board wasn’t as stable as the Yes4All board we recommend.
• OXO Good Grips Carving Board and Cutting Board: This is an awesome cutting board, but we don’t recommend it for carving. Meat slid all over the plastic surface, and the juice groove wasn’t deep enough to be useful.
• Shun Hinoki Cutting and Carving Board with Well: This is a beautiful board, and made with very soft wood that won’t dull knives. But that wood is so soft that it became stained and scarred after just one use.
• J.K. Adams Large Reversible Maple Carving Board (No Spout): This board had a deep juice groove. However, there’s an indentation meant for holding poultry that was a good idea in theory, but not in practice: Small chickens will still slide around, and large turkeys won’t fit.
• Zwilling J.A. Henckels Birchwood Cutting and Carving Board with Handles: This board has easy-to-grab handles and a luxuriously wide juice groove, but it stains easily. It has been discontinued and replaced with acherrywood model, which we have not tested.

FAQs

How do you clean a wood carving board?

The same way you’d clean a regular wooden cutting board. Use dish soap, a sponge, and warm water. Rinse it well, dry it with a kitchen towel, and set it on a cooling rack or in a dish rack until it’s totally dry. Boards with feet, like the Boardsmith, can simply be placed on a counter. Regularly treat your carving board with oil to keep it from drying out.

What’s the best carving board for turkey?

A big carving board! Three of our favorite carving boards come in 18-by-24-inch sizes. We particularly like The Boardsmith and the Virginia Boys. 

What’s the difference between a cutting board and a carving board? 

Carving boards have design features that make it easy to carve and slice large cuts of meat—namely, juice trenches and handles. You can use most carving boards as cutting boards, too. Some are even reversible and have one smooth side.

Why We're the Experts

• Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats. She’s reviewed hundreds of kitchen products and has worked in food media for almost 15 years. 
• For this review, we have tested 11 carving boards in total.
• In our most recent round of testing, we retested our winning boards and a few new contenders. The John Boos Maple Cutting Board With Juice Groove and the Yes4All Durable Teak Cutting Board are both new additions.