Who doesn’t love a good charcuterie board? These have gained a ton of popularity over the past few years and it’s really no surprise; these boards, typically made up of cured meats with an assortment of cheese, crackers, toast, spreads and more, are the perfect way to combine different flavours. They’re perfect for an appetizer when you have guests over and they even work well in place of a meal if made hearty enough. They’re easy to put together and look impressive. These charcuterie board tips will help you to create a gorgeous and delicious board to enjoy!
Charcuterie boards are beyond easy to put together and are always impressive. For your base, you’ll want to pick up (or make) a nice board to serve everything on. I’ve found beautiful boards at Marshall’s and HomeSense for really reasonable prices and there are some gorgeous options available from local makers; check out local small businesses and Etsy to find them.
Charcuterie boards are also the perfect option to bring along for a picnic. Easy to eat and put together, they’re great for enjoying outside on a nice day. Pick up a bottle of local wine to go with it and you’re all set.
How to make a charcuterie board
- The star of the board is cheese – pick up a selection of cheese that ranges from soft to hard to have a nice variety of sharpness (ie. aged cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, gouda). Start with some brie in the middle of the board and build out from there.
- Make sure you have cheese knives handy to make filling a plate easy for guests. Cut into the cheeses so that your guests don’t have to be the first to do so.
- Add cured meats (think prosciutto, salami, capicola), broken up into smaller portions. Select a few different types of meats and spice levels (cut into different sizes/shapes to make them easy to identify).
- After that, it’s all about building the space around the cheese. Add little things to enhance the cheese board, like olives and artichokes (keep these in ramekins to prevent oil from bleeding into the food).
- Pick up or reuse cute little jars to hold jams, honey & spreads on the board – roasted red pepper jelly is always a popular choice! Add these to empty spots, served with a small spoon.
- Add some colour to the board! Fruit and vegetables (is. figs, blackberries, strawberries, grapes & raspberries) make a beautiful addition.
- Add crackers, capers and nuts into the empty pockets on the board to finish it off.
There you have it; the perfect starting off point for your next charcuterie platter. Play around with the portions and different flavour combinations to find out what you like the most!
What are you favourite items to put on a charcuterie board?
