Charcuterie Boards

Charcuterie boards are having a moment. They are all the rage, and there is a good reason. First, they are delicious and second, they are super easy to make. Charcuterie boards are basically platters of meat, cheese, and condiments. They can be simple or very elaborate. I love to make them for holiday parties because you can make them ahead and there is something for everyone to enjoy.

There are some tricks to making a charcuterie board.

-Start with the meats.

Use your favorite cured meats. I like to have at lest 3 types and most grocery stores will sell a variety pack so you don’t have to but large quantities.

-Pick 3 types of cheese.

I like to have one that is soft, one that is hard, and one that is a little funky.

Soft Cheeses-

Goat Cheese

Brie

Camembert

Hard Cheeses-

Cheddar

Gouda

Havarti

Swiss

Parmesan

Funky Cheeses –

Blue Cheese

Gorgonzola (a type of blue cheese)

Herb Flavored Cheeses of all types

Smoked Cheeses of all types

-Choose Accompaniments.

I like to have a variety of accompaniments and I often just use what I have on hand. The key is to have a combination of fresh and dried or preserved offerings.

Nuts

Cut Fresh Fruit

Dried Fruit

Pickled Vegetables

Olives

Honey

Jam (fig is my favorite)

Fruit Paste

To assemble your board, start by choosing a platter or cutting board. You want it to be sized according to the amount of food you plan to serve. You do not want to have too much of the board showing but also want to have enough space for all the beautiful food.

Step 1 –

Place one type of meat on an edge of the board. You can overlap the slices, roll the slices, or form them into meat “flowers.”

Step 2 –

Add the soft cheese to the board.

Step 3 –

Cut the hard cheese into cubes or triangles and add it to the board.

Step 4-

Continue alternating adding meat and cheese. Be sure to leave space for accompaniments.

Step 5-

Fill in the gaps on the board with at least 2-3 accompaniments.

Serve the board at room temperature with crackers, crusty bread, or toast points. You can assemble the board ahead of time and cover it with plastic wrap. Pull the board out of the refrigerator an hour before serving to allow it to warm up to room temperature.

**Note** Some people like to put crackers on the board. This works if you are serving the board immediately, but I prefer to keep them separate so the crackers do not get soft in the refrigerator.

If you want inspiration for beautiful boards, follow @boardswichita on Instagram. She is truly an artist.