5 Pillars of the Perfect Charcuterie Board

A holiday appetizer or simple meal doesn't become easier than a Charcuterie Board! Anyone tin can pull this amazing spread together with our tips and tricks, including advice for pairing the perfect wine.

Created in partnership with St. James Winery and Burgers' Smokehouse. All opinions are our own.

What Is a Charcuterie Board?

Permit'south get some important business out of the style. How do you say "charcuterie", anyway? Say it with me like this: SHAR-KOO-TUH-REE. At that place yous become. Consider yourself officially edjumicated. 🙂

Secondly, what does "charcuterie" actually mean? This French word is literally translated "cooked flesh". Umm, gross. Peradventure don't tell your guests that part, g? When we say "charcuterie" today, we are usually referring to the human action of preparing and arranging cold, cured meats on a board with cheeses, crackers, fruits, vegetables, and more.

A Charcuterie Board works wonderfully for a holiday gathering or equally an impressive appetizer because of the diverseness of options and how gorgeous it is! Seriously, you lot have a high gamble of impressing all friends and family with a lath like this.

A Few Starting Tips

1. Begin with a nice wooden cutting board. Yous choose the size for your group.
2. Think nigh including nutrient items that offer a variety of colors, textures, flavors, and heights.
3. Apply pocket-size ramekins or bowls to contain smaller items and spreads.
4. There's really no wrong way to build ane, so don't exist intimidated! Starting time with our pillars beneath, only feel free to get artistic.
5. Don't forget to offer interesting and well-paired beverages, particularly vino. Read on for our wine pick!

5 Pillars of a Perfect Charcuterie Board

Stick to the five basics below (and starter tips above), and you're well on your mode to building an astonishing Charcuterie Board that volition wow your guests.

Scout how easily information technology comes together start…

Pillar one: Choose Your "Charcuterie"

Pick your "charcuterie", aka cold cooked or cured meat. You'll build your board and vino pairings around this central part of your platter. We chose two affordable and very delicious smoked meats from Burgers' Smokehouse, which you lot can find at Hy-Vee and many other local grocery stores…

Burgers' Smokehouse Summer Sausage

Simply place a slice of this flavorful sausage on a cracker and top with your favorite cheese and perhaps a condiment like mustard or a fig compote. (Admittedly, I had a difficult time stopping snacking on their summer sausage during our photoshoot. Yum!) Works great for holiday gatherings or summer hang-outs. Bank check out the variety of flavors here.

Burgers' Smokehouse Snack Sticks

These snack sticks are so fun to include! They're easy to take hold of and all ages savor them. They also had height to the board, if you identify them in a glass. Wouldn't information technology be unique and fun to gift this Sampler Pack to the jerky lover in your home?

Pillar 2: Pick Your Cheese, Please

You typically want to shoot to include well-nigh three different types of cheese. Go for variety, picking ones from different regions and/or that have differing flavors and textures. Include a small cheese knife for easy cutting and serving.

Hither are some of my favorite cheeses that are easy to notice and affordable:

Soft Cheeses:

• Goat/Chevre cheese (pictured) – Soft, tangy, spreadable cheese from goat's milk. We used one rolled in cranberries to add together color and texture to our board.
• Brie – Soft cow's milk cheese from France. Flossy, buttery taste.

Semi-Soft Cheeses:

• Manchego (pictured) – Semi-soft sheep's milk cheese from Espana. Fruity, nutty, sweet, tangy flavor.
• Havarti – Semi-soft moo-cow'south milk cheese from Denmark. The taste is buttery, from somewhat to very sweet, and slightly acidic.

Hard Cheeses:

• Aged Cheddar – Hard, sharp-tasting, moo-cow's milk cheese from England.
• Smoked Gouda (pictured) – Hard cow's milk cheese from Kingdom of the netherlands region. Buttery, smokey, pale yellow.

Colonnade iii: Offering Assorted Crackers or Breads

It's imperative to include swell vehicles for your meat, cheese, and condiments. Grab a diversity of crackers and/or slice up a baguette. Fan them out effectually the board and y'all're almost there.

Here are a few ideas:

• Multigrain, artisan, water crackers (pictured)
• Small baguette, sliced thinly
• Pita chips
• Consider adding gluten-free crackers for those who have dietary restrictions.

Step 4: Add in Fruit, Veggies, and More

Here'south where you can get super creative! Make full in the rest of the lath with all kinds of colors, flavors, and textures from fruits, vegetables, nuts, spreads, and even candy. For mine, I tried to think about spreading out colors and textures around the board.

Give several of these fill-in foods a endeavour. Y'all might even have a lot of these on hand already!

Fresh and Dried Fruits

• Grapes (pictured)
• Dried apricots (pictured)
• Fresh figs, sliced in one-half
• Fresh berries

Vegetables

• Baby Gherkins/Cornichons (pictured)
• Olives
• Pickled vegetables
• Roasted cherry-red peppers (pictured)
• Your favorite raw vegetable sticks

Spreads or Dips

• Fig Compote
• Apricot Jam
• Orangish Marmalade
• Hot Pepper Jelly (pictured)
• Mustards (there are so many interesting varieties on the market!)
• Hummus

Basics and Candy

• Smoked or roasted almonds (pictured)
• Roasted pistachios (pictured)
• Squares of night chocolate (pictured)
• Chocolate-covered raisins

Step 5: Pair with the Perfect Vino

It'southward non a far stretch to say that the perfect wine paired with a charcuterie board is a sensual feel. The beauty, smells, and diverseness of tastes paired together really do fill your senses. Our team genuinely had so much fun enjoying our lath along with a succulent local Missouri wine from St. James Winery chosen Estate Norton.

This full-bodied dry ruby-red vino is circuitous and rich with layered flavors of berries, vanilla and bittersweet chocolate. Peter Hofherr, second generation owner of the winery and vineyard explained why the Estate Norton works so well with a Charcuterie Board:

Often our Estate Norton is used for the vino match as information technology has hints of fig, tobacco and brambleberry in the taste profile.  In addition, the Estate Norton is anile in American and French oak to requite it the body and bigger profile information technology needs to match the contents of the charcuterie lath.

– Peter Hofherr, St. James Winery

Being from Missouri, this wine and information technology'south history has particular significance to us. The grapes are Norton, which is Missouri's State Grape. They are grown at St. James' vineyards, located in the Ozark Highlands.  The American Oak, which this wine is aged in, is sourced from barrel makers that are within 50 miles of the winery, and the oak itself is from the Ozark Highlands.  The Estate Norton truly is a Missouri fabricated and grown product.

Grab a few bottles of Estate Norton at your local Hy-Vee or grocer, or find information technology online hither for a genuine Missouri wine experience!

Bonus: Fill in with Greens and Get Messy!

We found that our board looked much more appetizing and colorful just by filling in negative space with arugula leaves. And…the messier, the ameliorate. There's a danger is being likewise precise when laying out all the elements on a lath. Don't be agape to go in in that location and muss it up a fleck for the sake of fine art!

Now y'all're armed and prepare to have on any party that comes your style. No one will guess how simple your delicious Charcuterie Board was to pull together!

More Political party Food Ideas

Looking for more appetizer ideas for a gathering? Hither are some of our favorites:

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese

Guacamole for the Masses with Tortilla Chips

Sliced Baguette with Garlic Herb Butter

Vegetable Platter with Simple Blender Hummus

Texas Caviar Dip with Tortilla Chips

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Source: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/5-pillars-of-the-perfect-charcuterie-board/

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