For Thanksgiving, my family has begun requesting charcuterie as the sole appetizer. It’s great for noshing, and everyone gathers around it to chat and admire the lovely colors and textures of the board.
There’s also a little something for everyone on a charcuterie board: fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, pickles, olives, crackers, meat, and cheese. It’s quite filling if you like all of those things, and in that case, I would not recommend serving it right before a massive meal! But it goes perfectly with wine or a casual party serving drinks and apps. It’s arguably even part of the decoration.
A classmate in school taught me how to arrange a charcuterie board and I’ve been hooked ever since. She had a perfect ratio of meats to cheese to fruit, etc. per guest. I have to admit I don’t remember much of that since I like to measure by feel and appearance, so if you don’t mind the philosophy of winging it, stick with me.
The main thing is to make it look pretty. I know, in life, looks are not what matters, but I promise it’s going to taste good if you have good ingredients. You’re not cooking anything, for pete’s sake. You have a party to throw!
Take some creative liberties in the appearance of your board. Fold the salami into a fun triangle. Cut the fruit with a serrated knife for a zigzag pattern. Take out your pretty little bowls that will literally hold nothing except a hard boiled egg, and stuff it so it’s overflowing with cornichon pickles. Bust out that fancy cheese cutting knife you never use. Then put on pretentious classical music and get ready to make sexy French hors d’oeuvres.
What you will need to assemble the charcuterie board
1 large wood or marble cutting board (around 12″ x 18″) (for display)
1 regular cutting board (for actually cutting your fruits and cheeses)
2-3 small bowls for holding pickles and/or olives
Toothpicks (if desired)
2-3 small appetizer forks
Ingredients for your charcuterie board (for 4 people)
Meat
4 oz thin sliced Salami
3 oz thin sliced Prosciutto
4 oz Summer Sausage sliced into 1/4″ thick coins
Cheese (pick 3 cheeses total, one from each category)
4 oz soft cheese (brie, camembert, goat)
4 oz semi-hard cheese (cheddar, Swiss, gruyere, gouda, edam)
4 oz hard cheese (Parmesan, manchego)
Pickles/Sour Elements (pick 2)
2/3 cup pickled red onions (recipe here)
2/3 cup kalamata olives
2/3 cup cornichon pickles
1/2 cup raspberry jam
Fruit (pick 2-3)
1 1/2 cups grapes, on the vine, cut into branches of 3-6 grapes per branch
1/2 apple, sliced thin
1 persimmon, cut into eighths
10 whole strawberries
6 oz raspberries
1 pear, sliced thin
Dry Goods
1/4 cup dried apricots (optional)
1/2 cup nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts)
24 neutral tasting crackers (Club Crackers, water crackers)
Put it all together now!
Tip: Do all of your cheese and fruit cutting on the regular cutting board and then transfer it over to the nice cutting board for display.
1. Cut the cheese!
Soft cheese are a pain to slice because they are so sticky. Use a sharp knife and wipe it it after each slice if you need to get a clean cut. I’ll cut brie or camembert into small wedges. Note: you don’t have to cut off the rind of these French cheeses. However, they do contain penicillin mold, so ask about allergies before serving them!
Semi-hard cheeses are the easiest to cut and you can get creative in how you cut them. Cubes, slices, sticks, triangles, all work. Or use a small cutout and make hearts, stars, or circles.
Hard cheese like Parmesan can be difficult to cut because it will start to crumble. Stick with an easier cut like cubes, slices, or triangles. Manchego is a bit softer, but still be careful not to lose precious cheese pieces to cutting it too small.
Now transfer the cheeses to three evenly spaced apart spots on your cutting board.
2. Arrange the meat.
Roll the prosciutto into a scroll. Then slice it into thirds. Place it between two of your cheeses.
Fold your salami into triangles, overlapping them on top of each other in a staggered display. Place it between two of the cheeses.
Slice your summer sausage into 1/4″ coins and stack them into little columns between the last of the cheeses.
Your meats should form a hexagon with the cheeses.
3. Filling it in!
Get your pickles and sour elements into small dishes and put those on the board near the meats and cheeses, inside the hexagon.
Place your fruits and crackers everywhere you see exposed cutting board.
Scatter the dried apricots and nuts to fill in the little holes where the cutting board is still exposed.
Get your fancy, tiny appetizer forks and put them in the pickle dishes.
Enjoy!