Charcuterie board, some people might be a little unfamiliar with it. However, it is popular in the United States and European countries as one of the simple and good menus to serve customers expertly. It looks pretty, and there is always something for everyone's appetite since it has many different flavors, from salty to sweet.
I, editor K, recently had enjoyed the first wine table of the year with a glass of wine, charcuterie board, and a wine party playlist. If you want to know more, please read this. →🍷Cozy and Warm Wine Table Styling
So today, I'm going to present you with how to make a charcuterie board loved as an excellent appetizer for a party and a complete dinner party menu itself.
What is Charcuterie and Charcuterie Board?
Before we talk about how to make this, let me explain the difference between charcuterie and charcuterie board.
Charcuterie is a French term that combines 'chair(flesh)' and 'cuit(cooked).'
It refers to prepared meat products cooked in various ways such as salt-curing, smoking, and drying. We usually call prepared meat products with natural ingredients as charcuterie.
As you may have noticed at this point, a charcuterie board is a platter with charcuterie, which is an assortment of cured meat and different accompaniments, such as cheese, bread, fruit, and more.
In other words, charcuterie is a food ingredient, and charcuterie board is a food menu. 👩🏫
Why Do I Love This So Much?
The first time I had a charcuterie was years ago when I was living in New York. After a long day of work, I came back home with an empty stomach but had nothing to eat at all. So, I went down to a deli store that still opened to get something heavy because I was starving! I could’ve gotten a sandwich that I usually had but somehow ended up got slices of salami, a block of cheese, and a hero bread. It was a PERFECT late-night dinner! And this 3-combination has become one of my favorite dishes! 🤩 Since then, I often prepare this as an appetizer or a dessert for dinner parties.
The best thing about a charcuterie board is you do not have to cook, and it does not require cooking skills either. Without any fuss of cooking, you can have great meal-worthy food. Also, another great thing about it is you can serve any food you want with cured meats.
What Can Go to a Charcuterie Board
As I mentioned earlier, there is no limit to ingredients. You can have many different variations of boards as you wish. But for the charcuterie board beginners, these are some examples.🤗
Meat: Hard Salami, Smoked Ham, Dry-Cured Chorizo, Mortadella, Genoa Salami
Cheese: White Cheddar, Camembert, Gorgonzola, Truffle, Fruit-infused, Triple Crème, Spicy, Wine-soaked
Fruits: Apples, Pears, All Kinds of Berries, Figs, Dried Apricots, Raisins
Veggies: Carrot, Celery, Pickled Veggies
Nuts: Walnuts, Pistachios, Cashews, Glazed Pecans
Carbs: Flat Bread, Whole Wheat Crackers
Condiments: Fruit Preserves or Jams, Stone Ground Mustard, Olive Oil, Honey
Extras: Chocolates, Caramels
Editor K's Charcuterie Board🧀
I wanted to decorate the table, so I grabbed wooden trays, bowls, and artificial leaves that go well with wine. If you don't have any wooden tray, a large plate, tray, or even a frying pan at home will do the job, as long as it holds various ingredients.
🥩 Charcuterie
Salami Cotto: Similar to salami but cooked pork seasoned with black pepper, red pepper, and fennel seed.
Lonzino: Lesser-known air-dried pork loin
Coppa: Famous Italian cut of ham is a salted, seasoned and dry-cured thinly cut pork shoulder or neck
Saucisson: French dry-cured sausage
Salchichón Ibérico: Spanish cured sausage made with Iberico pork meat
Prosciutto: Italian dry-cured ham
🧀 Cheese
Queso Manchego (Semi-Soft): One of the most popular cheeses from Spain, made from sheep’s milk
Gouda (Semi-Hard): One of the most popular cheeses in the world. Dutch cheese named after the city of Gouda in the Netherlands
Danablu (Semi-Soft): Danish blue cheese made from cow’s milk
Brie (Soft): The best known French cheese produced from the whole or semi-skimmed cow’s milk
English Mild Cheddar (Hard): the most widely eaten cheese in the world made from cow’s milk
Smoked Pepper Jack (Semi-Soft): Monterey Jack with jalapeños for an extra kick
🥖 Other Ingredients (Charcuterie and cheese should be enough, but I added a bit more.)
Olives
Smoked Almond
Smoked Salt Caramel
Fig Jam
Honey
Water Crackers
Baguette
Red & Green Grapes
Ready to Assemble Your Charcuterie Board? Here Is How.
Once you have everything, you can just put them on as you want. Don’t be scared to make a mass. There is no wrong way or right way to do it. 🥴 Just put everything on the board casually, and then you will have an excellent charcuterie board. But I will share how I did for those who still have no idea what to do.
Place bowls to fill fruit jam, olives, and nuts on the board. It gives you rough guidelines on where to put cheeses and meats.
Put big chunks of cheese sparsely, such as the wheel of brie, a big piece of gouda.
Once you set bowls and big pieces of cheeses, it’s time to fill your board with the rest of the ingredients. Fill any empty spots in the order o meats, fruits, and nuts. (Tip. Put things together in contrary colors other than similar colors. It is more attractive than arranging all similar colors together.)
If you have a larger tray, you can put crackers and bread as well. If it is small as mine, set them on a separate tray with nuts.
Finally, garnish with green leaves branches. If you have fresh herbs, use them instead. That would be better.
Done!
It might be a menu you are not very familiar with, or you might wonder where to buy all the delicious ingredients(If you are in Korea). However, you can buy it at online shops or any big grocery store.
Or check out the post I shared before about stores you can get all the ingredients for 'Brunch.'
I hope you have a satisfying and romantic dinner with wine and a charcuterie board rather than only cheese.🤭
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