While ingredient choices are undoubtedly important, there are a few easy techniques that make a charcuterie board an easy and appealing appetizer for guests to share when entertaining at home, especially during the holidays!
Charcuterie Board Ingredients
Every good charcuterie board has a handful of essential ingredients: fruit, cheese, spreads and dips, meat, and small bites. Your choice of ingredients should largely depend on the season for an immersive experience. Apples and pears are ideal for late fall and winter, with pomegranate seeds being the ideal winter option.
Pair these fruits with three to five cheeses varied in flavor, shapes, and textures. Finally, your choice of cured meats should offer an equal variety to the cheeses. Denver Meat Co. offers a wide variety of products from ring bologna, franks in many flavors, and a variety of meat sticks! Pair these choices with meats like prosciutto, pancetta, and even bacon.
Charcuterie Board Organization
After choosing your ingredients, a good charcuterie board layout offers order to the madness. Start with your bowls or round shapes. Begin styling by arranging your bowls or round shapes, like soft cheeses or big bowls/dips, on your board. Don’t put them next to each other, though. You’ll want them spread out. Remember to work in odd numbers to achieve a more organic instead of a perfect look to seem more natural! Next, move on to your biggest pieces and arrange them by category. Grab your larger cheese blocks and things of that nature and place them where it feels right. Once your cheeses are placed, move on to a new category, like crackers or fruit. Avoid the same category of items touching for board variety – this means no cheese touching cheese and no crackers touching crackers. This will give your board more color and help all guests get a chance at the ingredients without having to reach too far. Abundance is key. Not only will filling your board with overlap and to maximum capacity look prettier, but it also means you won’t have to restock it as often. Win-win!
