Classic Charcuterie Board
Yields: 12 servings
A complete guide on how to craft your ideal charcuterie board with a perfect ratio of cured meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, vegetables, spreads, snacks, and more.
Ingredients
- 10 ounce spread or dip, such as spinach dip, blue cheese dip, ranch dip, tzatziki dip, relish, mustard, honey mustard, grey poupon, or chutney
- 10 ounce pickled or jarred items, such as sliced pickles, olives, pickled onions, pickled carrots, sun dried tomatoes, or cornichons
- 5 ounce jam or jelly, red pepper jelly or any fruit flavored jelly, jam, preserve, or marmalade
- 1 1/2 pound cured meats, such as prosciutto, salame, pepperoni, smoked salmon, sausage, sam, jerky, cooked bacon, or pâté
- 1 pound hard cheeses, such as swiss, cheddar, gouda, blue cheese, monterey jack, pepper jack, pecorino, gruyere, manchego, havarti, or provolone
- 1 pound soft cheeses, such as brie, mozzarella, goat cheese, cream cheese, fontina, or camembert
- 12 ounce bread, such as french bread, rye bread, sourdough, or ciabatta
- 12 ounce crackers, such as Triscuits, Ritz, biscotti, or crispy breadsticks
- 8 ounce fresh fruit, such as grapes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or oranges
- 8 ounce fresh vegetables, such as carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, cherry tomatoes, edamame, snap peas, or celery
- 10 ounce dried fruit, such as dried apricots, dried mango, dried dates, or dried pineapple
- 8 ounce nuts, such as cashews, pecans, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, or shelled sunflower seeds
- herbs for garnish, such as parsley, rosemary, basil, cilantro, lemons, limes, or mint
Instructions
- Begin by placing any bowls, dishes, or cups on your chosen board, spacing them far apart. This could include spreads, dips, jellies, garnishes, olives, etc.
- Place the meat in either piles or rows. Keep meats separate and at opposite sides of the board, if possible.
- Next, arrange cheese near meats in piles or rows, in between the meats.
- Arrange bread and crackers in easy-to-reach places where they'll be most used, like around dips or jams.
- Fill in the "holes" with fruits, vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, and garnishes.
- Review the board arrangement and make sure that flavors alternate well (sweet to savory, mild to salty to spicy, etc) and no food of the same color is close together.
- Serve immediately.