If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to eat bread, cheese, salami, and lots of fruits. My love for charcuterie (shahr-ku-tuh-ree" is the art of preparing and assembling cured meats and other meat products) started as a little girl.

My mom’s family lived in Paris, France when she was a little girl. They brought back and passed down the desperate need for warm French bread and goat cheese to me. I’d sit at my grandma’s table and eat cheese and salami for hours. Honestly, I still do.

This Thanksgiving, we decided to do Thanksgiving for lunch, and then a charcuterie platter for a late dinner! We picked on the charcuterie platter while playing Mexican Train (a domino game that’s really fun for ages 7-really really old). Harper even ate a little bit of everything, but like her mama, loved the goat cheese the most.

Some people get intimidated by the idea of a charcuterie because they don’t know what to buy, or they don’t know how to lay it all out. But I’m here to help! Here’s a list of everything you could get and what I bought for our great big charcuterie dinner. You don’t have to buy everything on this list for a great charcuterie selection. You could always just pick a few and have a small board, too!

How To Setup A Killer Charcuterie Board

What To Buy:

MEATS

Hard Salami

Summar Sausage

Uncured Sopressata Dry Sausage

Prosciutto

Pâté
(This is for adventurous eaters.
It’s basically duck liver and fat and yumminess.)

CHEESES

Note: You could get SO many cheese options. Here are great classics you could get that aren’t too scary.

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Cheddar
(Make sure to have at least one cheddar option as this is a familiar cheese most everyone will like.)

Plain Goat Cheese
(This is a favorite. It’s creamy and delicious.)

Gouda
(This is a mild, semi-soft cheese.)

Brie
(This is a sharp, soft cheese that people often love pairing with brown sugar, nuts, and dried berries.)

Garlic and Herb Soft Cheese
(My favorite brand is Boursin)

Humboldt Fog
(This is kind of like blue cheese, so it’s a little more sharp in flavor.)

Parmesan Or Something Similar
(You want one really hard, really sharp, flavorful cheese to balance the rest of the mild cheese flavors out.)

FRUIT

Note: I like to go for really bright, flavorful berries to offset the cheese. The best combo is pomegranate seeds and goat cheese.

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Strawberries

Blackberries

Apples

Grapes

Pomegranate Seeds

Dried Apricots

Pear

Other essentials

French Bread - Warmed Up

Assorted Crackers (Skip Ritz, Get Something Thin & Higher-End)

Almonds

Dates

Dill Pickles

Honey

Grainy Mustard

How To Set It Up:

Start by washing, drying, and cutting up all of your fruits. Drying is important so that you don’t get your cheese or crackers wet or soggy. I cut the fruit into different types of cuts to make it look more dynamic. For example, have some strawberries cut into quarters, some into halves, and some whole on the board.
Pop your French bread loaves into the oven. Once it’s out, you’ll want to cut at least one to two pieces for each person in attendance.
I’d recommend using a cutting board or large serving platter to layout your charcuterie. Start by laying out your various cheese options as your “base” or start layout. For hard cheese, cut 3-4 pieces off the larger piece of cheese to get it started for your guests.
Put anything very small, sticky, or wet into small bowls - like pickles, pomegranate seeds, honey, or grainy mustard.
The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to have as many items in at least 2 places on the board rather than having it all grouped into one spot. For example, have 2 different piles of dried apricots, 3 different spots for apples, etc. That way, there’s a variety of looks and textures throughout the board.
Use the smaller items (such as nuts and smaller berries) and crackers to fill in the “cracks.” It’s better to fill up a small plate and have it look fuller, rather than having a large platter that looks sparse.
Toss knives into each cheese block, and small spoons into anything else you might need utensils for.
Pour your wine and enjoy! People can nibble on it as an appetizer, or you could enjoy it as your light dinner for a holiday party.

Need Some CHARCUTERIE Tools?
Here Are Some Of My Favorites From Amazon

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