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How to create a perfect charcuterie board?
Creating a charcuterie board might seem easy but in fact, it’s a process that requires a lot of thought and time, especially if you want all the products to go well together and the board to look as good as it can. We at Luxe Bites, since our launch in August 2021, have been developing and improving our process and testing what works well and what doesn’t. If you want to create a perfect charcuterie board, there are some crucial steps you can’t skip.
Choosing products
Many think that the key step in creating charcuterie is arranging all the products on the board but the truth is your composition will never be good if you don’t choose the right, top quality products that go well together. Remember that when it comes to cheeses and meats sometimes less is more. Our advice is to choose one blue cheese like stilton, one soft cheese like camembert and one more (just anything you like but we usually go for gouda or cheddar).
When it comes to meats, we always say the first choices should be soft prosciutto and harder salami. It’s simply because these two types of meat go very well with the majority of cheeses, fruits and other products we use for charcuterie, yet they’re both very different. We advise adding something spicier too, like chorizo.
While choosing other products, go for both sweet and savoury. Mix fresh fruit like grapes and strawberries with dried fruits and nuts (especially almonds and cashews), add some olives and veggies and chocolate. We always advise using at least two different types of bread or crackers.
Cutting
This part is the most time-consuming and it actually requires a lot of practice. You have to know how to cut the products, especially spicier cheeses and meats but also strawberries or other sweet fruits, to create just the right-sized bites. If they’re too small or worse- too big, their strong taste might cover all the other flavours you chose for your board. Every cheese and meat is cut differently starting from slices, small square-shaped bites, to longer sticks. The spicier meats and cheeses should go in smaller bites, and lighter meats like prosciutto are folded into rosettes. It’s easier to cut meats cold but make sure they warm up a bit before serving. They will simply taste better when not cold.
When it comes to bread, we remind you again- less is more. The thinner the slices, the better. Remember that charcuterie is not about bread! Bread is just an addition to everything else we arrange on our board.
Arranging
Arranging is the most creative part of the whole process and we love this part the most. There are some rules you have to follow to make sure everything blends well and looks colourful. First of all, try not to put all the meats together. The same with cheeses. Remember you want to make your charcuterie colourful. So what goes first? Well, there is no rule but we personally like to start with the bigger pieces. It’s because if we leave them for later, they might cover all the smaller bites and we want everything to be visible. Our advice is to leave nuts, raisins and all the other smallest products for the end to fill empty space between bigger pieces. We usually put bread on one side, crackers on the other. What we usually do is decorate charcuterie boards with dried flowers and voila! Our stunning charcuterie board is ready.
Remember there is no one way of arranging products on your board. It’s all about getting creative! Practice, test out and we’re sure you’re going to become a charcuterier soon! Book our charcuterie workshops for your event, in person or online, and become an expert today!