What is a delicious and kinda bougie snack that is salty, sweet, and aesthetically pleasing? If you guessed charcuterie board then you’re one hundred percent correct. Not only are these great for literally any party or Netflix binge, but why pair nicely with wine, and they’re totally customizable.
So what is charcuterie anyway? It’s the art of organizing various meats on a board in a pleasing, yet edible (of course) way. Let’s get into the how-to of creating edible art.
First, you’ll want to find a cool board. We love unique boards in non-traditional shapes, colors, stains, etc. A great place to shop for a fun, even customized board is Etsy. We’re also big fans of scouting your local antique shops for interesting pieces to use as a charcuterie board.
Next, start stocking up on ingredients you’ll want to choose 2 – 3 means, as well as 2 – 3 cheese, and 2 – 3 crackers. From there, you’ll start considering if you want nuts, fresh fruit, chocolate, pickles, or olives, etc as your side. When you’re selecting your meats, cheese, and grains, play with flavors and textures. Take, for instance, your cheeses. You’ll want to choose something sharp like white Vermont cheddar, a sweeter cheese like brie with blueberry sauce, and lastly something spicey with a kick to it.
Alright, you’ve got your board, your meats, cheeses, crackers, and sides, so now it’s time to start building your board. Everyone will do this part differently, but we’ll share a few tips with you: Start by placing some unique bowls on your board for sides. At this point, we recommend finding some inspiration photos, especially if you’re new to charcuterie making. As a rule of thumb, we suggest starting with crackers, then adding meat, folding or bundling as you need to, then cheese, and lastly filling in with your sides.
And last but certainly not least, no great charcuterie board is complete without some wine. If you’re preparing for a party, offer a couple of different kinds; if you’re prepping to binge a comfort show on Netflix, grab a bottle or two of your favorite.
If the traditional meat and cheese board isn’t really your thing, we have a few other ideas:
- Breakfast charcuterie complete with waffles or pancakes, fruit, chocolate, eggs, bacon or sausage, fresh fruit, you name it.
- Fajita charcuterie for a real fiesta involving sauteed vegetables, homemade guac, and all the fixings.
- Movie night charcuterie, a personal favorite of ours, with popcorn, cookies, gummy candy, chocolate, you know, all the necessary snacks for watching a movie.