{"id":17688,"date":"2025-05-05T00:05:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iamafoodblog.com\/?p=17688"},"modified":"2025-05-04T21:45:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T04:45:53","slug":"charcuterie-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.com\/charcuterie-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make the best charcuterie board"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love date-nights in. So cozy and romantic. You get to pick the music, or maybe a movie, light some candles and just chill with your boo. My favorite way to do an easy night in is a charcuterie board. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike and I first discovered our love for charcuterie together. Way back in the day, years and years ago, a hot new restaurant opened in a literal alley in a very sketchy part of town. It was hipster before being hipster was a thing. They offered flights of meat and cheese for an insane amount of money (to us, back then) and we fell in love.<\/p>\n

Charcuterie at home<\/h2>\n

After our fourth visit there in 2 weeks, we wised up to the fact that we were spending an absurd amount of money on something that we could easily do at home. After all, the restaurant literally told us where they sourced their charcuterie from. This was way before made-in-house was a thing. So, we went right to the source, bought a bunch of our favorites, which we handily already knew, and went to town.<\/p>\n

Ever since, we\u2019ve always made charcuterie and cheese boards at home. The best part is coming up with fun little accompaniments, because stuff that makes everything prettier makes things tastier too, right? Our boards are heavy on the pate because to me, that’s the best part.<\/p>\n

Where to get charcuterie ingredients<\/h2>\n

Ideally you have a nice little European inspired artisanal meat and cheese provider in your city. Failing that though, you can get a decent selection of salamis, cured meats, cheeses, and pates from the deli section of most major grocery stores, especially Whole Foods and similar higher end stores.<\/p>\n

\"charcuterie<\/picture><\/p>\n

How to make a charcuterie board<\/h2>\n

First off, don\u2019t feel like you have to go crazy. I love a simple charcuterie board.<\/strong> You can do just one meat and one cheese and have some mustard and good bread and call it a day. Or you could also go crazy and make a huge impressive platter! You do you. You are after all, the star of your meat and cheese bar.<\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. Grab your board.<\/strong> Just in case you\u2019re wondering, do you need a fancy marble and wood charcuterie board? The answer is nope, you can use any old cutting board or plate you have at home! In these photos we used a baking sheet.<\/li>\n
  2. Little bowls.<\/strong> Put down a couple of small bowls for things like olives, rillettes, mustards, jams, dips, nuts, anything that you don\u2019t want spreading all over the board. The bowls add height to your board and also give you more space because you can lean\/stack things against them. How many bowls depends on the size of your board or plate.<\/li>\n
  3. Meats and cheeses.<\/strong> After the bowls are on the platter, add the sliced meats, either in neat rows or in a organic pile. Add the cheese. While the exact combination is up to you, a little further below we have suggested amounts, varieties, and mixes.<\/li>\n
  4. Breads and crackers.\u00a0<\/strong>Stack or lay out the carbs in little piles, keeping the crackers with the crackers and the breads with the breads.<\/li>\n
  5. Spreads.<\/strong> We like to use a couple of different mustards (usually 1 English and 1 stone ground French) as well as whatever jelly we have sitting around.<\/li>\n
  6. Fruit and garnish.<\/strong> Add some seasonal fruit and herbs for color and freshness! In the photos we use a little trick we learned from Cassia<\/a> in Santa Monica: pairing charcuterie with Vietnamese herbs. It’s genius!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I also made some little flags, for fun, and plated the p\u00e2t\u00e9 in a restaurant-like fashion. Sometimes when we hit up restaurants, we notice that they smear p\u00e2t\u00e9 onto a plate to the edge like this.<\/a> It’s super easy to do at home and we really love it.<\/p>\n

    \"salami<\/picture><\/p>\n

    How much charcuterie per person?<\/h2>\n

    It\u2019s nice to get a mix of meats and cheeses\u00a0but the ratio is up to you! We base everything on a minimum order of 2oz.<\/p>\n