How to Make a Charcuterie Board

What is a Charcuterie Board?

A charcuterie board is a platter filled with a variety of food items. The term charcuterie is a French term for a shop that sells preserved pork products. That is the main reason why cured meats, like salami, chorizo, and prosciutto, are a central part of the modern presentation.

Often served as an appetizer or as a light meal for a casual gathering, a charcuterie board begins with selecting a range of ingredients for snacking on.

What takes a charcuterie board to the next level are the additional components that expand the texture and flavor options. Think sweet, briny, spreadable, fresh. Each component adds another possible combination, texture, or flavor to the mix.

Choose the Ingredients

In this tutorial, I will teach you how to put together an expert charcuterie board yourself as well as show you all of the products we selected with the help of a restaurant that specializes in boards, called 'La Tabla'. The ingredients might look like they're just thrown together but all of the components are actually carefully selected and arranged.

Step 1. Pick a Few Cheeses

Cheese is a natural accompaniment to the salty, savory taste of cured meats and adds sophistication to the board.

Mix up soft and hard varieties. You can go with a hard option like manchego or cheddar and add a soft, spreadable choice like brie or cream cheese.

Soft ones give a silky creamy note while hard ones bring sharper flavors and textures. Think Brie, Havarti, Provolone, Mozzarella, Gouda, and Feta for starters.

Manchego cheese: strong flavor, hard texture.​

Step 2. Breadsticks & Crackers

Crackers are a key element of the board, as they are the vehicle for all of the delicious spreads and toppings.

You can include several different types like mini breadsticks and a variety of crackers: whole grain, garden vegetable, water crackers, ritz, pretzels, etc. You can also include breads like skillet cornbread, focaccia, French bread and sourdough.

Step 3. Something Acidic

Go wild with your accompaniments. Olives are addictive for some, and will offer an acidic flavor that is hard to find on the board otherwise.

Besides gourmet olives, feel free to pick a few more briny elements that add flavor and variety like pickled eggs, canned mussels, sliced dill pickles and capers. There are many more pickled items that you can choose from: asparagus, beans, pickled sausage, beets, anything pickled really.

If you are adding focaccia to your board, you might want to include a high quality balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dipping.

Step 4. Nuts

Nuts are especially good for holiday parties. They add some crunch, saltiness and blend well with the cheese. We used walnuts but you can go with almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, etc.

Add a sweet touch with some candied nuts, which are especially great for holiday boards.

Step 5. Something Sweet

There is nothing better than dried apricots to bring a little sweetness to the board. Try picking a few sweet items: fresh grapes, berries, chutneys, marmalades and/or jams are more great options. If you're making a holiday board you could go with dried cranberries or oven-baked apple chips.

Step 6. Charcuterie (Cold Cooked Meats)

Think of meat as the heart of your board. Sliced meats like prosciutto and capicola are traditional as are cured meats like salami, pepperoni, and mortadella. Non-traditional options include smoked sausage, chorizo, souse, and summer sausage.

Prosciutto: salty and medium flavor

Step 7. Savory Spreads

Besides cheese, you will want to provide your guests with more options for spreading. Add spreads like pate, basil hummus or pumpkin dessert hummus, tapenade and stone ground mustard.

Assemble it

When assembling the board, start from the center. This will help you create a beautiful structure. Add containers for some of the elements; this will create additional shapes and separation between components.

Joss' Tips

• There are no rules! Don’t stress too much about your picks and placements--there are no rules when it comes to charcuterie boards!
• Determine the size of board you will need for the amount of guests you are feeding. You can use several boards if needed.
• When selecting your favorite ingredients, always remember to look for a balance in flavor. You can reach this balance by incorporating bitter ingredients (such as some of the charcuterie and cheeses) and sweet ingredients (such as fruits, jellies or chutneys).
• Also look for a balance in textures: include hard cheeses and soft cheeses, crispy crackers and soft bread, etc.
• Remember to add at least one knife for each type of cheese. Your guests will need something to spread their cheeses and jams with, so this is a crucial component.
• Also provide your guests with forks and/or toothpicks so that they can easily grab items without getting their hands in there.
• Be creative with your choices. Change it up for different holidays, choosing ingredients that will match the holiday, in terms of color and taste. Here I make a 4th of July themed charcuterie board. Add seasonal decorations for Christmas such as rosemary and cinnamon sticks tied together with twine or dehydrated orange slices.
• Make flowers out of meat: salami and prosciutto work well for this. You can also roll the meat into a log shape or fold it in half twice for an accordion effect.
• Think of your guests. If you're serving to kids, be sure to include some kid-friendly options. Charcuterie is more about the company - eating is social!
• Make it look full. After all, we eat with our eyes. You can stagger the cheese slices to add height, depth and spread them out a little.
• Charcuterie on a budget: Buy bulk cheeses plus one special cheese. Bread and crackers are fairly inexpensive and you can even make your own. Use lots of fruits and vegetables as a filler. You can find inexpensive charcuterie meat packs to save money.

Drink Pairing

The beverages you serve with your charcuterie board add additional flavor and complexity. You can bring out a rich red wine like a Shiraz or go with a lighter white like Alsace Riesling.

Offer a variety of craft beers ranging from a pale ale to a rich lager. Add non-alcoholic options like cider, herbal tea, hot chocolate, or lemonade (I have a great recipe tutorial for how to make delicious lemonade).

Storage

The amount of time you can store the charcuterie board ingredients in the fridge will depend on the ingredients used but we recommend no longer than 2 days. It is best to store each ingredient in separate containers. Breadsticks and dried fruit do not need to be refrigerated.

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