The Perfect Charcuterie Board

Charcuterie. Even the word itself sounds fancy! If you look it up (which I had to), it says that a charcuterie is a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes; also, the products sold in such a shop. Now add the “board” concept to that definition, and what I think it means (ideally) is that a charcuterie board is an artfully designed tray or board featuring dressed meats, meat dishes, cheeses and herbs. Not bad for a homemade definition, right?

So the reason why I was thinking about all things charcuterie today is because this weekend, I am getting together with a few friends with whom I am celebrating Pride month! Our celebration is going to be mostly virtual, but even a physically-distanced Pride celebration is better than no Pride celebration! So that means a picnic in the backyard, fancy food, brightly coloured clothes… Saturday should be a great day!

My contribution to this celebration (besides my colourful presence there hehehe…) is going to be a charcuterie board! This is my first attempt EVER at creating one of these, but I have seen my mom create something similar a few times and it really just appears to be about making the food look as good as it is going to taste. Food porn…? Perhaps! But damn delicious food porn.

Planning to make a charcuterie board and actually creating one are going to be very different things though I would imagine, and so I am doing a fair bit of research today and tomorrow before I actually have to create this dish. I wanted to share what I learned in a sort of “make your own charcuterie board DIY” tutorial today, just to share with you the journey that me learning how to do this is going to be.

Let’s get started!

So it all starts with the actual board itself. You can use whatever size/shape/material you want! It’s your board so seriously anything goes. Materials can be anything from glass to wood or china to whatever you have.

You will also need a few small dishes to plate and serve the food. One really great resource for getting these is antique shops. They are a great place to get unique little spoons, plates and serving pieces from. My suggestion would be to keep it simple in both design and style. Stick to white or clear dishes, maybe add little pops of color, but nothing too busy. Start arranging the plates/bowls on your board as a guide map as to where things will ultimately go.

After that, your board is yours to design! Typically though, these boards include the following elements:

· Cured meats: think things like mortadella, prosciutto, genoa salami, calabrese salami and uncured soppressata

· Various cheeses: pick your cheeses from the various classes of cheeses:

o Aged: Gouda, Sharp Cheddar, Gruyere

o Soft and creamy: Brie, Camembert, Epoisses, Burrata, Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella

o Crumbly: Goat and Feta Cheese

o Firm: Parmigiano Reggiano, Manchego, Gouda

o Smoked: Smoked Gouda, Provolone, and Cheddar

o Blue: Gorgonzola, Stilton, Roquefort

· Olives and Nuts: assertive and herbaceous, Niçoise are the ideal olive for tapenade or everyday snacking and pair nicely with charcuterie. Similar in color and texture to Niçoise olives, their relatives the kalamatas are the reigning kings of Greek olives. As for nuts, for charcuterie, always start with pecans! Then add things like almonds, walnuts, cashews or pistachios

· Fruit and dried fruits: use sweeter fresh and dried fruits, like grapes, strawberries, dates, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, figs, etc. Your spreads can also be sweet like the apricot jam, fig spread, jellies, etc., or opt for something a little more savoury

· Crackers or small slices of bread: for the bread, include French sourdough, asiago ciabatta or raisin-pecan rye for a sweeter option. Water crackers are virtually flavorless and allow the other charcuterie to shine. Other great options include thin multigrain crackers and crispy breadsticks or dipping sticks

· Jelly or Jam: anything from apricot to strawberry to raspberry to peach works here

Ok, next comes cheeses. Choose your favorite varieties of cheese (a great number to have is at least 3 different cheeses in different shapes and sizes). Feel free to add a small amount of jelly to top spreadable cheeses!

Fresh rosemary and thyme both look great as some added greenery to your board and they smell great too. Place these around where your cheeses are.

Just like the cheeses, you can choose whatever meats you like. A great starting point is some good quality pepperoni, varieties of salami and sausage that you can have partially sliced. Again, check out your deli section and find what will work best for your guests.

The trick with adding meats to your board is keep them in groups. For example, put some of the salami near the blue cheese, then lightly fold in half for fun. The pepperoni and other salami pieces can be nicely fanned out, laying flat on the board.

Try garnishing the board with some fruits, like raspberries, blueberries and grapes. You can also add some marinated olives and cheeses in a small bowl, sweet peppers and marinated artichoke hearts scattered throughout. All of the best things to snack on!

At this point, your board should be coming together so nicely! Try adding some dried pineapple and apricots, or some sweet and spicy sliced pickles and a sweet and spicy jam to the top of my cream cheese and brie cheeses. They’re the perfect addition! Cut a pomegranate in half and scatter the seeds for colour and variety. Add some cheese knives to the board as well.

For nuts, again, this is personal preference, so use your favourites! Including some herbed almonds and salted pistachios is also a neat idea, both can be found at your local grocery store. Use your favourites. Try to add as much variety in colours and textures as you can.

Choose a number of different crackers for my charcuterie board. Aim for different shapes, flavours and colours. Check in the deli section and cracker isle of your grocery store. Look for rounds, rectangles, wheat, white….you get the picture. Stack them creatively! Some arranged on their side, some flat and fanned. Have fun arranging them! Save the crackers and nuts for the end to fill in spaces.

One really neat addition is a little bowl of honey with honey dipper. The honey dipper looks so cute on these boards and pairs perfectly with the cheeses and crackers.

In the end, charcuterie board are all about creativity and design, building layers of flavour and using varying textures to create interest and intrigue. Now that we are hopefully moving out of lockdown and back into normal life where we are allowed to socialize again, I am already planning out all of the yummy things that I want to make to contribute!

Happy summer everyone! I hope that you enjoy your sunshiny days!

Best Charcuterie Board:

· Brie cheese round

· Smoked gouda round

· Pecorino Romano

· Wedge of blue cheese

· Block of cream cheese

· Slices of good quality pepperoni

· Slices of salami

· Summer sausage partially sliced

· 1 pint fresh raspberries

· 1 pint fresh blueberries

· 1 bunch firm red grapes

· 1 cup marinated olives got mine in olive bar from grocery store

· 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts

· 1 cup sweet peppers also found in olive bar from grocery store

· Dried apricots

· Dried pineapple chunks

· 1 pomegranate halved

· Sweet and spicy deli style sliced pickles

· Mini dill pickles

· quartered cucumbers

· Herbed almonds

· Salted pistachios

· Deli-style mustard

· Honey with honey dipper

· Sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme

· Variety of crackers of different shapes, sizes and flavours

1) Select your board size (this will give you a better idea of how much to purchase for your charcuterie board)

2) Once you've decided on your board, place your cheeses around the board with a couple cheese knives

3) Garnish the edges with fresh rosemary and thyme if desired. Place some little plates and bowls around the board that you'll use as a guide to help arrange your board

4) Once your cheeses and dishes are set on board, start arranging your meats. Fold some of the meat for variety and fan out others flat on the board

5) Add some of your fresh berries to the bowls/plates on your board. Add marinated olives, artichoke hearts and sweet peppers next. Start filling in spaces with dried fruit and nuts. If you've still got room, add sliced pickles, dill pickles and cucumbers

6) Fill in more spaces with nuts. Add mustard and honey, then fill in with crackers arranging around the board

References:

https://picky-palate.com/make-the-perfect-charcuterie-board/