Game Season Prep: Choosing a Butchers Block for Venison, Pheasant, and Wild Game

Game season brings heavy, messy work to the board. Venison needs jointing, pheasant needs breaking down, and both come with bone, blood, and sinew. A light board cannot handle it. You need a proper butchers block built for the weight and the mess. Here is how to choose one for game.

Why Game Needs a Butchers Block

Game is tougher on a board than everyday meat. You are cutting through joints, sawing bone, and working whole carcasses. That work demands a thick, heavy surface. 

A plastic butchers block chopping boards range is made for exactly this, with the depth to take a cleaver and the weight to stay put. A thin board flexes and shifts under a bone saw, which is slow and dangerous. The block gives you a stable base that holds firm through the hardest cut.

Thickness and Weight Matter

A butchers block works because of its mass. The thickness absorbs the shock of a cleaver, and the weight keeps the board planted on the bench.

A good block for game should be substantial. The depth lets you resurface it as the cutting face wears, so it lasts season after season. It also stays dead flat under heavy chopping, which keeps your cuts clean and your hands safe. 

For jointing venison or portioning a whole bird, that stability is what you want.

Colour: Why Red Chopping Board for Game

Under the UK system, red is the colour for raw meat, and game is no exception.

Keeping game on a red chopping board stops its blood and juices from reaching other food. This matters even more with wild game, which comes in from the field rather than a clean supply chain. 

Many game kitchens run a dedicated red block for meat, alongside other boards in a set. For example, a larger kitchen might keep a 25mm red chopping board for general raw meat and a heavier block for jointing, so the right surface is always available.

Size for Whole Carcasses

Game is big. A whole deer haunch or a brace of birds needs room to work, so the board has to be large enough.

A cramped board slows you down and sends offcuts over the edge. A large butchers block gives you space to joint, portion, and trim without crowding. Match the size to the game you handle most. A large plastic chopping board cut to your bench gives a whole carcass the room it needs, with no overhang to get in the way.

Get a Board Built for the Season

Game prep is heavy, bony, and messy, so the board has to match it. You need thickness for the cleaver, weight for stability, red for raw meat, and size for a whole carcass.

Get those right, and the block handles the whole season without complaint. A proper butchers block chopping board in food-safe plastic takes the punishment, washes clean of blood and sinew, and resurfaces when it wears. Buy one built for the work, and it serves you game season after game season.

FAQs

What Board Should I Use for Jointing Venison?

Use a thick, heavy butchers block in red, the colour for raw meat. The depth takes a cleaver, and the weight keeps the board stable while you joint.

Why Use a Plastic Butchers Block for Game?

Plastic is non-porous, so it washes clean of blood and sinew. It resurfaces when the face wears, and a food-safe board handles bone work without splitting.

What Size Butchers Block Do I Need for Whole Game?

Match the size to the game you handle. A whole haunch or a brace of birds needs a large board with room to joint and trim.