We love a good charcuterie board: they’re festive, a crowd pleaser, and don’t require any cooking, a huge win during a cooking-heavy season.
Whether you’re hosting or bringing your own board to a party, here is our fool-proof formula to create a winning charcuterie board:
BOARD | Yep! You need one. You can go as straightforward or fancy as you like, just be sure it’s spacious enough. We like boards from Wood From the Hood, a group of woodworkers that reclaim discarded trees in the Twin Cities, diverting them from landfills and transforming them into household objects. Soundwoven Goods in downtown Minneapolis has squiggly wood boards if you’re feeling funky, or you can use a cutting board you already have on hand.
CHEESE | 1 hard + 1 soft + 1 funky = perfect cheese harmony. France 44 and St. Paul Cheese Shop have great selections, cut to order (meaning it’s not languishing in plastic for weeks by the time you buy it). They’re also cheese experts, so bring all your questions to them!
MEATS | Similar to the cheese math, aim for 1 hard + 1 soft. Think prosciutto (soft) and salami (hard). Surdyk’s Cheese Shop and France 44 have great selections. Have you seen the “roses” made from salami slices? It’s a lovely way to make the board more visually interesting.
BREAD & CRACKERS | All this deliciousness needs a vehicle! A good baguette and crackers will go a long way (and don’t forget a gluten-free cracker option for your GF friends). Your local co-op, Lund’s & Byerly’s and Kowalski’s Markets all have a wide range of options.
ACCESSORY FLAVORS | Here’s where you round out your board. Add nuts (almonds, pistachios), fresh fruit (whatever’s in season and can be eaten with your hands), dried fruit (apricot), jams (fig), fresh vegetables, and olives. Apples are great sliced up, and pair well with honey: Bolton Bees’ Martini Honey is a delicious local Minnesota honey that’s especially good with cheese, and is sold at most Lund’s & Byerly’s and Kowalski’s Markets.
LABELS | You’ve got a lot on your board! Make sure everyone knows what’s on it so you can enjoy the party rather than acting as a charcuterie board tour guide. You can go low-tech (office labels on toothpicks), write in chalk (if you have a slate board), or buy something cute like these dry erase labels from Etsy.
SERVEWARE | Not everything on the board plays nicely, so grab a few small vessels to keep those things separated. (You don’t want your olives leaking onto your strawberries, or your pistachios rolling off the table.) Mini ramekins work well for this, but if you don’t have any on hand, anything small and ceramic will work. We just saw these at Soundwoven Goods in Minneapolis, and think they’d be extra festive.
SERVING UTENSILS | Did you know different cheeses require different kinds of knives? A cheese knife set is not only practical, but can be a fun way to inject your taste into your display (they also make a great host/hostess gift). All of the cheese shops mentioned above sell them, and Etsy is a great online resource. If you want to check things out in person, Patina carries them year-round. And don’t forget spoons for your honey & jams!
BUBBLES | Rather than trying to guess red or white pairings, stick with bubbles. They’re a crowd pleaser and are delicious with everything. Our favorites are Prosecco and Cava, but you really can’t go wrong. Just aim for something on the drier, rather than sweeter side. We’re blessed with a bevy of great wine shops in the Twin Cities, and some of our favorites are Henry & Son (Minneapolis) and The Wine Thief & Ale Jail (St. Paul and Crystal).
ASK FOR HELP | We get it: this might not be your thing or sound like too much to jump into all at once. Want it done for you? The fine folks at Surdyk’s Cheese Shop can take the guesswork out of it and build one for you. (Tell them Stephani sent you!)
Cheers!
How do you like to use a charcuterie board?
A casual night in, a gathering with friends, or something you bring to share?
If you have a favorite element we should try or a go-to pairing you love, we’d be so curious to hear about it. There’s a good chance it’ll make its way onto our next board.
