When hosting guests at home, one of the easiest things to serve is a simple charcuterie board. It looks fancy, it is easy to eat and there’s a lot less to clean up after everyone leaves! !
Here are our tips for making the perfect charcuterie board:
MEAT & CHEESE
Well, this is the obvious one but buy the freshest you can get! Try to have a balance of different flavours when it comes to your cheese. For a smaller crowd, choose 3-4 cheeses, one being creamy (brie, for example), one sharp (try sharp white cheddar), one nutty (aged gouda, maybe) and one funky (blue cheese is your best bet). Head over to the RRO Cheese Bar in your city to get some help putting this part of the platter together.
For the meats, try to add different textures to make the board interesting. Dried salami, salty prosciutto and a even spicy salami are delicious additions. Make sure to present each meat nicely, by rolling and twisting it. It allows the meat to have some height so it doesn’t lay flat on your board.
FRESHNESS
Creamy cheeses and salty meat needs to marry with some freshness to create a nice balance. Add cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, grapes or fresh figs.
BREADS
This is also another area where you want to have different textures. A french baguette is always a no brainer since it seems to be the biggest hit for majority of guests, however give drier
breads like rye and flatbread crackers a chance, too!
ANTIPASTO
Roasted artichokes, roasted pepper, grilled eggplant and 2-3 different types of olives are always
welcome on any board.
DIPS & EXTRAS
Some fresh hummus, fig jam for sweetness, and candied pecans, walnuts and cashews - which
look so pretty when you scatter them in between the cheese and meats!
WINE
A dark red wine with bold, salty flavours like these is just right, but it can put you in a complete
food coma! The best solution is to offer a variety from red to rose to champagne.
