The best carving boards for serving turkey, ham and more this year

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For best options, consider boards made from high-quality wood and bamboo. Amazon; Hexclad; WoodenhouseTo be prepared for holiday meals like Thanksgiving, you won’t just need the necessary ingredients and food; you’ll also need the proper tools and equipment. For roasting large pieces of meat and poultry as well as sides, you’ll need a roasting pan, casserole dishes and a carving board to help prevent any messes when you’re serving. In fact, carving boards aren’t just great for preventing spills or messes; they also make stabilizing and actually carving your roast easier, since your turkey or bone-in ham won’t slide all over the place.

To find the best carving boards to use this year, I spoke to experts from wooden kitchen utensil brands and researched highly rated options online, including Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table, which, as someone who loves to cook, are two of my favorite places to shop during the holidays.

Best overallRoyal Craft Wood Wooden Cutting Boards$29.99$49.99AmazonLearn moreBest budgetGreener Chef Extra Large Bamboo Cutting Board$undefined$29.60AmazonLearn moreBest splurgeHexClad Hybrid Carving & Cutting Board$159.00$199.00AmazonLearn moreRelatedselectedselectedAre plastic cutting boards useful kitchen tools or a breeding ground for microplastics? Here’s what to knowWant more from NBC Selected? Sign up for our newsletter, The Selection, and shop smarter.

Below are highly rated carving boards to use for serving large pieces of meat and poultry. Some have at least a 4-star average from 500+ reviews on Amazon or at least 100 reviews at another retailer.

$29.99$49.99AmazonNow 40% offWhat to knowMaterial: bamboo | Dimensions: 15 x 10 x 0.6 in., 12 x 8 x 0.6 in. and 9 x 6 x 0.6 in.  | Care instructions: hand wash only | Weight: 4.11 lbs.What we likeIncludes three sizesHas handlesHas grooves on the sidesSomething to noteDoesn't have gripsThis set comes with small, medium and large carving boards, all made of 100% bamboo. Each board has grooves on the sides to use as handles, and a small groove around the perimeter to catch any juices or liquids released from meat and poultry. The boards are available in a light bamboo color and a dark carbonized bamboo shade.

$69.95Sur La TableWhat to knowMaterial: teakwood | Dimensions: 18 x 14 x 0.75 in.  | Care instructions: hand wash only | Weight: 2.5 lbs. What we likeHas an end-grain designReversibleHas grooves on the sideSomething to noteDoesn’t have handlesThis popular carving board from Sur La Table is made of teakwood and has a natural edge-grain design, which gives it a more colorful appearance rather than a solid shade. The board is reversible, and since it’s more than a foot long and wide, it’s suitable for carving large pieces of meat and poultry, like a whole turkey or chicken. It has a groove around the perimeter to catch juices as you carve. People who bought the board say it’s easy to clean with just soap and water.

$29.60Amazon$39.99$59.99Greener ChefNow 33% offWhat to knowMaterial: bamboo | Dimensions: 18 x 12.5 x 0.6 in. | Care instructions: hand wash only; conditioner with oil  | Weight: 3 lbs. What we likeLarge sizeBPA freeAffordableSomething to noteLess than an inch thickThe Greener Chef carving board is a great size for carving some of your largest roasts during the holidays. It has a groove around the sides to catch juices from meat and poultry, making it easier to pour down the drain or into the trash. It’s made from 100% bamboo and is warp-resistant, according to the brand. People who bought the board say that it’s durable and it doesn’t slide around on tables or countertops.

$129.95Williams-SonomaWhat to knowMaterial: acacia | Dimensions: 18 x 12 in. and 20 x 15 in. | Care instructions: hand wash only; season with oil | Weight: 5 lbs.; 11 lbs.What we likeEnd-grain designHas handlesHas groovesSomething to noteMust season firstThis acacia wood carving board has an interesting checkered end-grain pattern that makes it great to keep propped up in the kitchen. It’s available in two sizes and has a groove that runs along the perimeter of the board. It also has small indentations on the sides that act like handles, making transferring roasts easy. To care for the board, the brand recommends seasoning it with mineral oil before the first use and then occasionally thereafter.

$33.99$38.99WoodenhouseNow 13% offWhat to knowMaterial: bamboo and teakwood | Dimensions: 15 x 10 in., 12 x 8 in. and 9 x 6 in. | Care instructions: hand wash only; season with oil  | Weight: n/aWhat we likeIncludes holderHas handlesMultiple sizesSomething to noteDoesn't have gripsThis set of wooden boards from Woodenhouse includes small, medium and large boards made from bamboo and teakwood and are BPA-free and biodegradable, according to the brand, which is part of why I recommended the brand in our guide to cleaning wooden kitchen utensils. Each board has grooves to catch juice, and the set comes with a holder that props them all up at the same time. The boards are odor-resistant, according to the brand, and it’s recommended to hand wash only and use oil to keep the wood healthy.

$159.00$199.00AmazonNow 20% off$159.00$199.00HexcladNow 20% offWhat to knowMaterial: beechwood and stainless steel  | Dimensions: 21.25 x 15.25 x 2.25 in.  | Care instructions: hand wash only; season with mineral oil | Weight: 14.75 lbs.What we likeHas grips in the middleHas a drip trayReversibleSomething to noteExpensiveHeavyHexClad’s carving board may be the most expensive option on this list, but it’s also the most advanced and has amazing features. It has two grooves to catch juices — one around the perimeter and another around the middle, where the grips are. The middle of the board has a panel of small hexagonal engravings that help stabilize meat and poultry and keep it in place while you’re carving, preventing messes and accidents. Plus, it has a removable stainless steel compartment on the other side (it’s reversible), which catches scrapes and juices, saving you time on cleanup.

Here are some of the factors that I considered when making the list of carving boards above.

Here’s everything you should consider when shopping for a carving board.

When it comes to carving things like meat and poultry, wood or something wood-like (like bamboo is arguably the best option for carving boards, according to Haliayeva. “For carving, I’d pick hardwood. You want wood dense enough to resist deep knife marks, but not so hard that it dulls the blade,” she says. “Maple and walnut have been the standard for a long time, and for good reason.” Haliayeva says bamboo is great for daily prepping, but for carving she prefers wood. Additionally, carving boards made from woods like acacia, teakwood and beechwood (which I included above) make suitable options, too, according to Haliayeva.

Size is important as it relates to carving boards since they have to reasonably fit and support large roasts, like whole turkeys and chicken, prime ribs, pork tenderloins and more, without touching the side or overflowing. That is why you should buy a carving board that leaves room for meat juices to flow easily into the grooves without making a mess. For large roasts, go with large carving boards — the largest options on this list are around 20 by 15 inches in length and width.

Yes and no, according to Haliayeva. “Every carving board is a cutting board, but not

every cutting board is good for carving,” she says. “The difference is the groove.” This feature saves your kitchen from a lot of mess. Plus, some carving boards have panels in the middle with raised grips to further help stabilize what you’re carving, which can prevent things from sliding and causing knife injuries.

At NBC Selected, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

*Any inclusion of products from Woodenhouse in this article was made independently of Haliayeva, who we only sought guidance from. We did not ask Haliayeva for product recommendations, though she may still profit from purchases made in this article.

I’m a commerce editor at NBC Selected, where I write about home and kitchen appliances. I’ve written about the best stainless steel cookware, how to season a cast-iron skillet, the best way to polish wood furniture and how to clean wooden kitchen utensils. For this story, I considered guidance from an expert and highly rated products on Amazon and other brands.

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Cory FernandezCory Fernandez is a commerce editor for NBC Selected, and an authority on all things food, cooking, kitchen, home, and general lifestyle.