What’s more fun than ordering from a menu? Creating your own menu. A charcuterie board is merely a combination—usually create your own—of cured meats, cheeses, pates, jams/jellies/compotes, nuts, honey, pickles, veggies, dried fruits, mustards, crackers, olives and the like, presented on, well, a board. The combinations are limitless and your board can be as big or as small as you can imagine it to be; they are great for a large party or a party of one. It is an experiment in flavor-pairing and an interactive way to dine with friends and family.
Many restaurants offering this unique experience present its diners with a pen and a checklist of possible items for your choosing; the prices are typically a la carte. While my good friends insist that I have some magical touch when it comes to selecting what goes on our board, it really is more like a fun game of chance: mixing and matching willy-nilly is my favorite way to order.
I do have a general process—albeit not a formal one: I always order the same number of meats and cheeses, a pickled condiment as well as a sweet one. After that criteria is met, then it’s a virtual free-for-all. Sometimes I choose cheeses from the same source: sheep, cow or goat. Other times, I choose one of each, or all aged, or all soft, or all blue—you get the point. Most times, I just order whatever jumps out at me and then start pairing things up. This meat or that pate with that cheese topped with honey or nuts—or both—on a cracker: the only limit is the imagination. I’ve had plant-based ‘charcuterie’—no animal products at all—and selections with just cheese, fruit and condiments. Your board, your rules.
While charcuterie technically means cooked, processed or cured cold meats, this term has come to mean any grouping of bite-sized morsels and toppings that you can put on a serving plate and enjoy with your hands; I even love making my own platters at home with what’s already in my fridge. No matter your taste preference or dietary restrictions, there is a ‘charcuterie’ board for everyone: look below for some inspiration…
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