If there’s one plate of food that says “party,” it’s the charcuterie board. Enticing and satisfying enough to carry a celebration on its own, this beautiful platter of delicious meats, cheeses, fruit, and nuts, is also the perfect attraction for pre-dinner mingling.
Putting together a spectacular charcuterie board is easier than you might think. Here are a few tips:
Select Your Board or Platter
If you don’t have a fancy cheese board – no problem! You can dress up any board, platter, or plate with a variety of cheeses and accompaniments. You can even use a baking sheet in a pinch. If you’re not sure where to start with plating, I recommend doing a quick Google search of charcuterie boards for inspiration.
Use Little Bowls
Little bowls and dishes are great for containing spreads, sauces, or round foods like olives or nuts that you don’t want rolling all around the board.
Choose a Variety of Different Cheeses
This part is important. In my opinion, cheese is the star of the show (although traditionally, meat is the main character, who doesn’t love cheese?). Selecting a variety of different types of cheeses can really make your charcuterie board shine. Try to choose cheeses with varying sharpness, flavors, textures, shapes, and hardness/softness. Some examples of a diverse cheese selection could include:
- Cheddar – sharp in flavor and hard textured, goes well with a sweet jam, almonds, or topped on a cracker
- Blue – spreadable, tangy, and slightly funky, blue cheese goes well with fig jam and nuts, or spread on a seeded cracker
- Mozzarella – soft and creamy with a mild flavor, mozzarella goes well with accompaniments with punchy-fresh flavors, like olives, roasted red pepper, tomato, or topped on a piece of mini garlic bread
- Gouda – smokey in flavor and semi-hard texture, gouda goes great with crackers and fresh or dried fruit, like apricots, pears, or cranberries
- Goat – creamy and crumbly, and slightly tangy in flavor, goat cheese goes great with dried fruits and almonds, or spread on an herby cracker
- Brie – with a soft and creamy texture, brie pairs well with sweet fruits like pears, plums, and figs, and nuts like walnuts and pecans
Cured Meats
Charcuterie is a French term pertaining to the preparing of meats, so historically, meats are the star of the board. Pepperoni, salami, and prosciutto are great classic options, but feel free to get creative! An assortment of meats goes a long way to accompany fresh pairings.
Crackers & Breads
Just like the cheese, it’s important to have a good a variety of different topping-vessels. Some possibilities include melba toast, butter crackers, herb crackers, seeded crackers, rice crackers, crostini, and even sliced baguettes. Feel free to experiment with flavors but make sure to have some plain options as well to really let the toppings shine!
Olives & Pickles
These are the salty/briny/tart components that are great complements to punch up the flavor of creamy or mild cheeses. There’s no wrong way in choosing olives and pickles so pick your favorites! Stuffed olives can add another layer of flavor here.
Jams, Sauces, & Spreads
Fig and red pepper jellies are popular options but have fun with this one. Mustards are also a delicious charcuterie-board staple and come in many different flavors. Hummus and artichoke dips are creamy crowd-pleasers as well. Try hitting up your local farmer’s market for some local jams, sauces, and spreads!
Fresh & Dried Fruit
Fruit gives a wonderful pop of flavor, sweetness, and freshness to any charcuterie board. Some fresh fruit options include sliced pears, grapes, strawberries, and tomatoes. Some classic dried fruit possibilities include dried cranberries, apricots, and cherries.
Nuts
The most popular nut for charcuterie boards has to be the marcona almond. These are delicious but can be quite expensive, so if you’re on a budget, roasted almonds will do just fine. You also can’t go wrong with cashews and pecans.
Be Creative!
The flavor combinations are endless! Consider creating special boards for different occasions. This is also a good way to celebrate seasonal flavors. Include a variety of different goodies and you can’t go wrong!
