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