Creating a charcuterie board is a ton of fun and lets your creative self takeover.
You can shape your charcuterie meats into roses, or intricate layers to give a bit of texture to your charcuterie board.
You can add a ton of color to your charcuterie board by adding fruit, herbs, and berries at throughout the board.
How to plate a charcuterie board
Plating a charcuterie board involves getting a large enough serving platter for all of your items.
Depending on how many people your serving for, you might need quite a large serving board.
There are many items that need to fit on a plate for charcuterie including many tiny bowls, cheese, meet, and fruit.
Select your food serving board:
Things to keep in mind for plating a charcuterie board
Height: Vary the heights of your cheeses. Place your Brie, Boursin, Blue Cheese in large pie shaped pieces standing up. Lie flat with the other cheeses that you plan to slice.
Color: Green/red grapes, mint leaves. Fruit slices – red skins for apples, green skins for pears. Brown nuts. Light colored cheeses.
Texture: Textured whole seed mustard. Smooth honey. Soft and hard cheeses. Soft and hard cured meats.
Shopping List for Charcuterie
Select your own cheeses, meats, condiments, and plating foods that fit best for you. Pick condiments that you have at home to make it easy on yourself. Pick only a couple to maybe a few of the cheeses and meats. You don’t need more than 3 of each for your guests.
Cheese
- Brie
- Gorgonzola
- Aged cheddar
- Aged smoked cheddar
- Parmesan
- Camembert
- Goat
- Burrata
- Boursin
Meat
- Salami
- Prosciutto
- Capicola
- chorizo
- Ham
- Foie Gras
Condiments
- Mustard
- Red pepper jelly
- Honey
- Fig jam
- Pomegranate jelly
- Dried cranberries
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Cashews
- Sliced pickles – pickles for cheese board are typically dill pickles
- Olives
- Sliced apples
- Sliced pears
Breads & Crackers
- Crackers
- Raincoast Crisps
- Pita chips
- Baguette
Extras
- grapes
- pretzels
- rosemary sprigs
- mint sprig
- raspberries
- strawberries
- blueberries
- basil leaves
- pineapple cubes
Charcuterie vs Cheese Board
The difference between charcuterie and a cheese board is charcuterie has both cheese and cured meats on the board.
A cheese board would be a no meat charcuterie board which can be just as delicious as regular charcuterie.
If you’re going with a no meat charcuterie board, pick a few more cheeses (5-7 cheeses) and a couple more condiments for the added variety,
What kind of mustard do you use for a charcuterie board
Typically whole grain mustard is used for a charcuterie board. Whole grain mustard has the seeds still visible in the mustard, giving it a textured coarse look.
How to put together a charcuterie board
- Place all of your condiments into small bowls, or directly onto the charcuterie board. Group them into sections. Try to vary the textures and colors when placing them onto the board.
- Put your cheeses onto the board next. Keep in the mind the heights of the cheese, and fan out the flat cheese for a tasteful look.
- Roll up the meats that are long pieces up so they look presentable. Fan out the other meats that are cut into disks.
- Place your breads and crackers onto the board. Try to fan out the bread pieces and stack the crackers or fan them out if your have the room. If you don’t have enough room on your food serving board, you can place them on a separate dish.
- Last but not least, the plating items. These are the items that dress up the board like fruit, or fresh herbs. If you’re putting sticks of pretzels onto your board, you can either lie them flat, or place them in a tall glass so they add the height variation to the charcuterie board.
- Serve your plated charcuterie board immediately. If you’re not serving it right away, place it in the fridge with some plastic wrap while your waiting.
How to transport a charcuterie board
To transport a charcuterie board, you’ll want to find something you can put the entire plate in, that has high sides.
This could be a reusable grocery box, a cardboard box, or a plastic bin. Find one that it fits snugly in. Keep your charcuterie board covered during transport with plastic wrap.
Charcuterie board themes
Christmas Charcuterie Board: add decorative cranberries or small cedar branches to your charcuterie board
Halloween Charcuterie Board: add small gourds to your charcuterie board, or some spooky decorations like fake spiders or skeleton bones
Valentines Charcuterie Board: add a bowl of cinnamon hearts to your charcuterie board or some chocolate dipped strawberries
Dessert Charcuterie Board: All different types of desserts – cakes, chocolates, jams and fruit. Learn how to make your own dessert charcuterie board.
