In recent years charcuterie boards have grown considerably in popularity, and understandably so. Charcuterie boards are a great and easy way to offer a wide variety of tasty snacks and hors d’oeuvres to any guests you may have over at your house. They make entertaining effortless, all it takes is loading your board up with the right ingredients and voilà, your guests are fed.
What is Charcuterie?
The French word “charcuterie” roughly translates into English as “cooked meat,” and therefore it’s no surprise that smoked and cured meats have been a staple on traditional charcuterie boards since their inception. However, now with its increased popularity it’s common to see more out-of-the-box ideas like gummy candy charcuterie boards and even fry-cuterie boards. Innovative ideas like this bring new and fresh flavors to the classic charcuterie formula. Offering a wide variety of anything, all laid out nicely so everyone can pick, choose, and combine things as they see fit has become the new and expanded definition of a charcuterie spread. In this blog, we will go through a range of contemporary takes on charcuterie boards; some with more traditional charcuterie ingredients, and others that explore the broader charcuterie-genre at large.
Different Types of Charcuterie Boards
Classic Boards
More conventional boards tend to be centered around cured/smoked meats and cheeses (and crackers). The variety of meats or cheeses offered is where the fun comes in. Opportunities are endless, and experimenting with assorted flavors can be surprisingly fun. One of the keys to making a great traditional charcuterie board is opting for meats, cheeses, and crackers that complement each other.
Getting your meats and cheeses to pair well is relatively easy, and it’s all about variety. Getting a variety of flavors from your meats (aged, spicy, sweet, smoky) and textures from your cheeses (hard, soft, semi-soft, creamy, crumbly) allows them to contrast and come together perfectly. Additionally, a wide variety means you are more likely to have something your guests will love. Every pairing isn’t for everyone, so no amount of acidity consideration or matching smokiness is guaranteed to work. More diversity from your bored means everyone is more likely to find the perfect pairing for them!
In addition to your core meats and cheeses it’s common to include a sweeter option, often taking the form of fruits or nuts. You can get creative with these extras as well, opting for dried fruit, or even candied and spiced nuts. Adding this sweet element can help bring the board together and provide a fuller range of flavors for guests.
One trending tweak that is quite popular now is adding more bitter or acidic foods to your board as well. Pickles and Olives offer a tangy alternative to the more common charcuterie ingredients. Perfectly accentuating the typical salty, sweet, and savory flavors by highlighting them through contrast. Similarly, tangier items can be great when juxtaposed with fruit centric boards as well. Whether it’s fresh apple slices, or dried fruits like dates or raisins, pickles can bite right through the sweet flavor; allowing for a change of pace, and even more flavor diversity on your board. Try out our Acacia Wood Olive Long Trays with your next charcuterie board, the perfect way to include olives and other bits while conserving valuable real estate on your board.
Some Less Conventional Ideas
Next, let’s look at some of the more unique charcuterie board options. Ones that stray a bit further from the ordinary meat and cheese focused spreads. The possibilities are almost endless, as just about anything can be thrown onto a board, and charcuterized.
Dessert Boards –
Perhaps most prominent among non-traditional boards, is the dessert charcuterie board. Exceedingly popular all-over social media, even this one subset of nonconventional charcuterie boards can vary drastically. Some emphasize the charcuterie tradition more than others; for example, it is common for a dessert board to have lots of dips and spreads to go along with salty or sweet treats. Dips like Nutella, peanut butter, and chocolate sauce work excellently with pretzels, popcorn, kettle/caramel corn. Sprinkling in classics like fresh fruit or even roasted nuts and legumes among the more unique items above can offer a wonderful mixture of flavors and options for those with an insatiable sweet tooth, while still incorporating some classic charcuterie elements.
To illustrate the vast potential for customization between any two dessert charcuterie boards, contrast a board like the one previously described with a candy charcuterie board. Both are sweet dessert charcuterie boards, but they are still tremendously different. The candy board contains just about every color on the rainbow, with a variety of flavors as well, compared to the less colorful, richer look of the dessert board. Their ingredients differ considerably, with one board focusing more on Smores flavors and fixings, while the other emphasizes fruity gummies and assorted unwrapped candies. Setting their differences aside, each of these boards would definitely bring a fun, delicious, and social atmosphere to any event.
Pizza Boards –
Another fun idea for a charcuterie board variant is a pizza board. Pizza boards are related to charcuterie almost only in name, but still offer great categorical variety that can even rival that of a traditional board. These boards can have various other classic goods like bread sticks, garlic bread, dipping sauces, chicken wings, cheese bread, calzones, and of course, pizza. Experimenting with various kinds of pizzas, toppings, and sauces, can help bring more variety to an otherwise bread-heavy board too.
Foreign Cuisines –
Trying out other regional or foreign cuisines can work terrifically with charcuterie boards as well. One cuisine that lends itself particularly well to charcuterie boards is Mexican food. Mexican themed boards typically have things like tortilla chips, cucumbers, bell peppers, and jicama. Serving these Mexican staples alongside cured meats like Spanish chorizo or carne seca, and adding in dips such as salsa, guacamole, and queso tie the whole board together. Other boards even offer ground beef and other taco fixings which makes a fun taco building station for everyone. This kind of practice of adapting one type of cuisine to the charcuterie formula can be done with other kinds of cuisine from all around the world too. From Southeast Asia all the way to the Levant.
Your Turn to Explore Charcuterie
When it comes to crafting your own charcuterie board the most important thing to remember is that there are no rules. No one will stop you from loading the entire thing up with salami and provolone and just calling it a day. In fact, if those are your favorites, go for it! There is still lots of fun to be had exploring different kinds of crackers and trying out different presentation methods too.
Whatever makes you and your guests happy is the best board for that occasion. These ideas are mere suggestions to help aid in your quest for the perfect charcuterie board for your occasion. Whether it looks more like a pizza board, a marshmallow board, or a pancake breakfast board is all up to you!
The one thing that remains consistent across all these ideas is the board itself. Each charcuterie board recipe is designed to be enjoyed on a large flat wooden platter designed to serve multiple people at once. Thoughtful presentation, and a superior quality board go a long way towards any successful charcuterie night. Shop high-quality charcuterie boards, along with smaller mini-serving boards from our SiamMandalay Gourmet Collection. Some customers even make their own small individual boards on the smaller circular and square wooden trays.
