How To Make A Charcuterie Board + A Video! I’m sharing tips on how to assemble the best charcuterie board! Packed with meats, cheese, pickles, nuts, crackers and more, this is the easiest and most delicious platter to put together for your guests for the holidays! There’s sure to be something there for everyone!
The holidays are here!
Whether we are ready or not, the holidays are upon us! I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is this week! It’s getting super cold here in Wisconsin and I actually cannot wait for it to snow. There’s something about seeing a white blanket outside when you wake up in the morning that’s so magical. My sister’s family is coming into town on Wednesday and we will be knee deep in cooking, baking and eating all the things!
One appetizer I love to make, other than this flatbread pizza, is a charcuterie board.
It’s something that is easy to prepare, everyone can enjoy it and it just looks so festive! A charcuterie board can be filled with whatever you want but you definitely want to have a good variety of cured meats, nuts, different types of cheeses, pickles and/or olives, dried fruit, regular fruit and crackers or bread.
Recently, I got to shoot a video with Channel 15 here in Madison and I show you just how easy it is to put a charcuterie board together. And I share some tips too!
Watch the video above to see what I do step by step and my suggestions on what to buy and how to arrange everything on your board. For the board, you can use a large platter or a cutting board.
Do you have family, friends and guests coming over for the holidays? I hope you give this charcuterie board a try! Happy Holidays!
What You’ll Need for a Charcuterie Board from Bon Appetit
Access to a good butcher or specialty food shop is key to building a charcuterie board. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and try samples as you choose your meats. The best meat platters have a little bit of everything.
Cured, hard sausages are a great entry-level choice for many diners, because they’re reminiscent of grocery store pepperoni. A quality butcher shop will have plenty of options when it comes to cured, hard sausage. Feel free to mix it up with complementary and contrasting flavors. For example, if you’re going for a hot, garlicky chorizo or a fiery sopressata, counter it with something with a sweeter flavor profile, like fennel seed-flecked-finocchiona.
Whole-muscle cuts of meat are shaved into slices that can be thick (good for sandwiches) or paper-thin (a better choice for charcuterie boards). Common examples are lomo de cerdo, a cured pork tenderloin ** often just called lomo, and bresaola, beef tenderloin that’s been air-dried and salted. Bacon and jowl (often referred to as guanciale) fall into this category, as do cured pork legs, like prosciutto, jamón Serrano, and jamón Ibérico.
Homemade toasts are good. Homemade toasts rubbed with quality olive oil and a cut clove of garlic are way better. Crackers are a no-fuss, open-the-package-and-go option, but no matter what you choose, you’re going to need something carby and bready for guests to pair the meat with. Extra credit forpicos, crispy Spanish breadsticks that are great wrapped with thin pieces of cured meat.
A spreadable chutney or jam is the perfect foil to fatty, salty meat. Anything pickled helps cut through the richness of the meat, and nuts add some crunch. Bright, acidic flavors perk up any charcuterie selection. You can’t go wrong with a grainy mustard and tangy, tart pickles; cornichons are a classic choice!
