How to Make a Charcuterie Board – Step by Step Guide

Making a charcuterie board is much easier than it looks and is an easy, quick, and fun, way to entertain. And who isn’t looking for that?!

Charcuterie boards are so convenient for entertaining, no cooking involved and often times you already have a lot of the necessary items in your pantry or refrigerator.

I am going to show you step by step how easy it is to assemble an attractive and yummy meat and cheese platter or Charcuterie (shar-kytuh–ree) board. A charcuterie is a store where pork products such as hams, sausages, and pâtés are sold. So if you want to prepare a genuine charcuterie board make sure you add in plenty of pork products.

Step by Step Guide to Making a First Class Charcuterie Board

• Step 1: Find a large cutting board, marble slab, ceramic platter or any other option you have on hand to use for your display. .
• Step 2: Choose a variety of cured meats and salami. Proscuitto, ham, salami, pepperoni, pâtés, and sausage are good options.
• Step 3: Use a variety of hard and soft cheeses with varying milk types and color such a Brie, Havarti, Gouda, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Provolone, and Blue Cheese.
• Step 4: Add some colorful antipasti such as olives, anchovies, peppers, and artichoke hearts.
• Step 5: Add a few spreads, jams and mustards with a variety of crackers and bread sticks.
• Step 6: Mix in a colorful variety of fresh and dried fruit such as grapes, berries, dried apricots, dried banana chips, dried pineapple, raisins, and cherry tomatoes.
• Step 7: Use a variety of nuts, such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, and pecans.
• Step 8: And for the finishing touches, add some fresh herb sprigs such as mint or rosemary.
• Step 9: Lastly, have fun arranging your platter and mixing your ingredients to create a beautiful display!

How to Assemble a Charcuterie Board

• Find the platter you want to use for your display. I used a large round cutting board.
• Arrange the cheese selections and jars, bowls of olives, jams, and antipasti.
• Next, place the varieties of meat slices and rolled up meats on the platter.
• Scatter crackers, bread sticks, pretzel twists, and french bread.
• Add the fruit, nuts, and herbs or garnish to fill in any remaining spaces.

Don’t be afraid to pile on the fruit, nuts, and meats…you want to fill the entire board and create different dimensions.

A colorful display makes the board a real stand out. Look for a variety of colors in your berries, nuts, cheeses and fruits. An estimate of 4 slices of meat per person is a good rule of thumb to use when preparing your board.

Lastly, grab your favorite bottle of wine, invite a few friends over and enjoy!!

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See you next time!