I also never even thought about the type of cutting board. End grain makes sense, any special place to get a quality one so fluids don't get sucked into the grain?

I got one made from bamboo. I flooded it with mineral oil to the saturation point.
That seems to keep it from loading up with junk.

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
Albert Einstein

At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".