How to Prepare the Ultimate Charcuterie Board
The one essential quality of a good host: they always have food on hand for their guests. Which means that, no matter how delicious the smells coming from your stove are when people walk in, you still want to greet them with something they can snack on immediately. To really spoil them with riches, you can’t beat a bounty of meats, cheeses, and other bite-sized accompaniments. Our advice: select one item from each of the following columns, then distribute them on your board with a little bit of distance between the meat and cheese to show some respect to the vegetarians.
CHEESE
Serve at least one ounce per person in attendance.
Firm:
Emmental
Manchego
Semi-soft:
Gouda
Havarti
Soft:
Camembert
Brie
Blue:
Gorgonzola
Roquefort
MEATS
Shave some thin and fold; others, slice into rounds.
Sausages:
Soppressata
Mortadella
Pork:
Speck
Prosciutto
Beef:
Bresaola
Smoked meat
Spreadable:
Pâté
Liver mousse
ACCENTS
Remove from the fridge to allow to warm to room temp.
Salty:
Walnuts
Marinated olives
Pickled:
Cornichons
Vegetables
Spicy:
Mustards
Peppers
Sweet:
Dried apricots
Grapes
Vessels
Focus on carbs that won’t just become a mess of crumbs.
Breads:
Mini toasts
Sliced baguette
Crisps:
Raincoast crisps
Kettle chips
Crackers:
Saltines
Water biscuits
Bonus:
Focaccia
Breadsticks