How to Create a Pretty, Tasty Charcuterie Board

by
Marilyn Roy

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Create a charcuterie board for any occasion. Photo of charcuterie board courtesy of Image by Daniel Friesenecker from Pixabay

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Table of contents

What Should You Include on a Charcuterie Board?
​How to Arrange the Food on a Charcuterie Board
How Much Food Do You Need Per Person to Fill a Charcuterie Board?
Six of Our Favorite Charcuterie Boards from the Designers on Zazzle

​Charcuterie is a 15th-century French word meaning meats sliced by a butcher. Basically, it's an Italian antipasto or a meat-and-cheese platter. Because of the name, many people only think of meat when they think of what to put on a charcuterie board. However, most people include meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables, condiments, and bread or crackers.
 
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What Should You Include on a Charcuterie Board?
 
Your guests' preferences and possible food allergies can guide you in your food selection. You may want to create a vegetarian or vegan board for some of your guests. For a holiday or a celebration, the food can feature holiday favorites or the favorites of the honoree. Other variations could be chili, Mexican, fondue, or breakfast boards. 

Start by choosing meat from the deli, such as ham, salami, headcheese, or pate. Then, select hard and soft cheeses. Consider sweet and savory cheeses, such as cheddar, swiss, or a more exotic blue cheese. Next, add dates, figs, apples, grapes, and other seasonal fruits.

Vegetables you could add include radish roses, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, and filled or plain celery sticks. Include a ranch dip for the carrot and celery sticks. Add pickles, olives, mustards, and other condiments to fill our your board.

A breakfast board can start with bacon, sausages, and ham. While hard-boiled eggs are simple, you can offer a variety of eggs, omelets, and mini-quiches. Cheddar cheese is a compatible cheese, while Fresh fruits such as berries will add a special touch. Waffles, pancakes, French toast. Danish, sweet rolls, toast, raisin bread, biscuits, and dinner rolls can finish a breakfast charcuterie board. Have a supply of butter, jelly, jam, cinnamon sugar, and whipped cream. Keep food warm in a low-heat oven.

Serve your charcuterie board with a sliced baguette or rye crackers.
 
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How to Arrange the Food on a Charcuterie Board
 
First, decide whether you are placing meat or cheese at the center of your board. Your center item can be spread across the board in any direction to create two sections. You can also place two types of meat or cheeses on opposite corners or sides of the board. 
 
Using meats such as salami and prosciutto provides variation in taste and texture. A hard salami has a strong flavor and firmness that can be rolled or spread out in empty spaces. Then, pile the ham in another area. Adding a spicy meat will please many of your guests.
 
You have several options for presenting cheese. Soft cheeses should be kept in the refrigerator until the last possible minute. Medium cheeses can be cut into cubes or triangles. You can make shards using hard cheeses with this recipe from Food Network's Giada de Laurentiis. If you include a stronger flavored cheese, you can  cut it thinner for guests who prefer milder flavors. Crackers can be placed on the board or displayed  separately. Fill in the spaces with the fruit, vegetables, pickles, and olives.
  
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How Much Food Do You Need Per Person to Fill a Charcuterie Board?
 
The quantity you need per person depends on the purpose of your charcuterie board. If it's being served as an appetizer or snack, you only need two to three ounces of meat and cheese per person.

As the main course, you need four to five ounces of meat and cheese per person.
 
You don't have to do that much cooking to create a charcuterie board. You can buy all the items that you display on your board, including frozen mini-quiches for breakfast boards. Just enjoy creating an eye-catching board.
 
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Six of Our Favorite Charcuterie Boards From the Designers on Zazzle

Beautiful and Bold Sunset Swirl Cutting Board

Beautiful and Bold Sunset Swirl Cutting Board
by anuradesignstudio

Golden browns, creams, and orange with a touch of violet and green vibrate through a fractal swirl design on a black background. A beautiful sunset photo served as the basis for the fractal. The rich earth tones highlight a cream and orange center circle on this round cutting board that will add a natural touch of warmth and style when serving from your board.

Sunshine Super Sunflower Round Cutting Board

Sunshine Super Sunflower Round Cutting Board
by HeartOfAChildShoppe

This board features a sunflower with leaves streaming out behind it like a superhero's cape. The sunflower petals are rust-tipped with yellow. You can also select this design on a paddle cutting board. This design is available on this and other products at our Zazzle store, Heart of a Child Shoppe.

Leaves in Circle Cutting Board

Cutting Board - Leaves in Circle (octagon)
by bkmuir

A bracket of angled "wrought iron" is replicated 8 times to form a circle of leaves, with branches forming a central octagon. The image is shades of brown on a light yellow/green background. *** Part of a coordinated set - BKM2R.

Morning View from a Cinque Terre Balcony Cutting Board

Morning View from a Cinque Terre Balcony Cutting Board
by Sea_Change_Designs

The temperatures are warming up in the Cinque Terre, a beautiful collection of five Italian villages on the Mediterranean. However, it's still slightly cool in the narrow streets. Lunch is being prepared in the ristorante on the balcony below. People are roaming the streets in between bathing in the ocean, window shopping, and choosing their favorite lunch spot. This photograph, which has been digitally filtered to look a bit like a watercolor painting, was taken in Monterosso al Mare. When visiting the Cinque Terre, a UNESCO Heritage site, you can see beauty and history everywhere, even right from this balcony.

Mountains Trees Rustic Wood Family Name Kitchen Cutting Board

Mountains Trees Rustic Wood Family Name Kitchen Cutting Board
by cobblestoneandlilacs

This custom cutting board is designed for a family's mountain home. It features silhouetted mountains and palm trees, customized with your family name on a rustic wood design background. It's perfect for your mountain home/vacation rental, or you can customize the text for any use.

Cheers Cutting Board

Cheers Cutting Board
by Vibesofcolor

A beautiful cutting board featuring two glasses of wine and clusters of grapes.

​To see more cutting boards and read more articles about how to use them, please visit our Charcuterie Board on Pinterest.