How to Charcuterie
If you are into entertaining or maybe just impressing your in laws the next time they come over for dinner you are going to LOVE how simple it is to put together a charcuterie board. Now for those of you stuck in 1999 not knowing what charcuterie is here you go—according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary charcuterie is a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes.
The charcuterie board was originally born out of necessity as it was a way meats were preserved and then displayed. Nowadays, we seem to throw around charcuterie more loosely. Pretty much when we think of a charcuterie we think anything on a big board that we can pick and chose what we want to make our own food creation.
My favorite type of board is filled with local cheeses, cured meats, nuts and fruit BUT I love how you can make anything into a charcuterie board: Tacos (heck ya!!); S’mores Board (one of my BFF’s dream!); Kids Favs like sliced apples, cheddar bunnies, mini pb&j’s ….you get the point!!
#1: Chose local, fresh ingredients if you can. I always start with picking out the cheeses then meats, fruit, crackers and the fillers (olives, nuts, jams). For the cheeses you want to pick a good assortment of 3-5 different varieties with different textures, tartness and enhancements (added in fruits, espresso, wine).
#2 Start assembling your board by placing your cheese first. They will be your anchors and help you place everything else. For my board, I went with a block of smooth goat cheese, an aged cheddar cheese, an espresso bellavitano and a merlot bellavitano. For the hard block cheese I do usually cut a couple of slices so everyone knows to start digging in.
#3 Place your small dishes of olives, honey, jams, relish or whatever else your heart desires. I suggest to always have olives (Castelvetrano are my favorite variety), something sweet like a honey or jam and one tangy element—I did fresh vegan pesto on my board this time. That way your guests can build a sweet or savory combo.
#4 Start adding your meat and crackers. You want to place them in close to what is already on your board—wrap them up right next to the small dishes or snug them in close to the cheese. I usually like to do 2-3 meats. Some of my favorite varieties are soppressta, spicy pepperoni and salami. For the crackers I usually try to add a few different flavors. On this board I included rosemary crostinis and fig crackers.
#5 Add in some fruit and fun elements to fill in the board. I love the use of fresh herbs like rosemary (plus it compliments the rosemary crostinis!) and of course what would a charcuterie board be without some grapes. Moon grapes add a surprising twist! Plus the addition of the coconut rolls and marcona almonds bring it all home.
