Why a Charcuterie Board?

WHY NOT a Charcuterie Board?

Full disclosure, I am a BIG charcuterie board fan, or as one of my best friends calls it, an adult lunchable with wine. There is just something so simple, yet rewarding about a good charcuterie board. It is easy to entertain with, yummy to have as a snack (or even dinner) and if done right very impressive for guests with little work.

Yes… you can put together a charcutuerie board with minimal effort (& cost) and impress people all at the same time. Let’s break it down…

3-3-3-3 Method

If you are a newbie to charcuterie boards, or just tired of making the same ones over and over, you need this method. The 3-3-3-3 Method is a quick and easy step by step way of building a board everyone will love.

Choose the Meats

I like to start with the meats as I feel they can set the tone for the board. You can go with a little kick with jalapeño sausage, chorizo and peppered salami. You can keep it simple with the basics like ham, turkey and hard salami. You can fancy it up a bit with prosciutto, serrano ham and genoa salami.

Whatever you have on hand or can find at the grocery store will work.

Now the Cheese

This is honestly my favorite part of the board… I am ALL about the cheese. I love a good brie, a blue option, a sharp cheddar, a gently gruyere, a goat-y goat cheese, cubed colby jack, swiss triangles or a whipped feta. Really I am open to just about anything.

Two rules I try to follow… First is to have a staple that eveyrone will love, Colby or Monterey Jack. That way there is a cheese EVERYONE will love. The second is have fun… I love to go to the store (Trader Joes is my fave) and see what is new or what is being featured and run with it. HAVE FUN!

Starches

You can have some fun with this one. I always, ALWAYS, have a basic plain cracker. I typically use my Gluten Free Milton Crackers for this. They are basic and let the meat and cheese shine. I also love to include a seeded cracker, for the goat or brie and then a fun cracker like a cornbread crisp (IYKYK) or an everything bagel cracker, or a brioche crisp. You could also use toasted baguette or ripped sourdough. SO MANY OPTIONS!

OH THE EXTRAS!

The extras are where is it at… olives, nuts, pickles, dips, honey, pickled veggie, fruits… really just about anything you can think of. I typically will have a spicy nut, a bowl of honey and then some grapes… a little something for everyone.

Remember to have fun, be creative and enjoy it all!

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