Author & Photographer: Arushi Mukherjee

The holiday season means home-cooked comfort meals, being in the same house with your siblings for almost too long, and charcuterie boards. Usually the perfect party sampler, this year charcuterie will serve as the ultimate appetizer for your scaled down family gatherings. Charcuterie composition can be intimidating – it’s an art form and can be an expensive one if you don’t buy intentionally. To make a beautiful and budgeted board, you’ve come to the right place: the beginner’s guide to charcuterie.

the big cheese

The focal point of a charcuterie board is the cheese. This is where you want the most money to go – the cheese is what keeps people coming back; everything else is just an accompaniment. Depending on the size of your board, you should choose two to four cheeses, varying in flavor and texture. I try to make each cheese unique in at least one way: a soft cheese (like gouda, brie, or camembert) with a harder one (like Manchego or an aged cheddar), or a spicy (habanero pepper jack) with a sweet (cranberry orange goat). This rule ensures that there is something for everyone on the board. Because the cheese is the centerpiece, it’s okay to splurge here! We can save on everything else.

As far as starting the composition of your board, lay down the cheeses first. If you’re using two cheeses, put each in opposite diagonal corners. For more than two cheeses, put two in opposite corners and the others a little bit inward from the edges. Make use of the cheeses’ natural beauty! If one has wax, show that off. If there’s a marbled cheese, put it towards the center. Vary the shapes (wedges, circles, or blocks of cheese). Cut a few slices of a block or out of a wedge here and there for visual interest. This positioning will guide the rest of your placements.

carbs are good

The most essential pairing with cheese is a cracker, toast, or bread. You can go for cheaper options here, but still look for different shapes. There are flatbread style crackers, usually wide and flaky; Ritz or similar ones, which are round and buttery; English crackers, which are thinner and lighter; or multigrain, seedy ones, which often come in fun shapes and add color. Bread choices often depend on the cheese selection, but usually a crusty, classic baguette is a failsafe, and a bolder choice could be an herby focaccia or pita. Another great option are pretzels (unflavored or flavored) or a cheese stick or breadstick, the long, crunchy kinds that are found in packages.

For placement, I like to put the carbs alongside the cheese in a fallen stack formation or in small heaps for the non-cracker items. This is both for eating convenience and the fact that it makes the creation of the board less intimidating when filling it in with the support of the cheeses. I sometimes put a line of crackers on the front of the board as well to border everything in and fill up a good amount of space.

jam sesh

A quick interlude about jams! They are a great way to elevate your board, but not essential. While they can sometimes seem pricey, a full jar takes a while to finish, usually making jam worth it. Jams provide balance, and depending on the flavor profiles of the cheeses, you may want to choose a sweet (like fig, blackberry preserves, or apple butter) or savory (like red pepper jelly or tomato onion jam) option. When placing them, you’ll want to treat them like a cheese, because they tend to take up space and be similar in size. Keep jam in the jar if it’s cute, stick it in an elegant bowl if not.

meat heads

For the meat lovers, cured proteins can be essential on a board. While I love a good prosciutto, leaving meat out of charcuterie can cut your cost down, and you won’t even miss it with intentional accessories. However, a splurge now and then is always warranted, and I think the best meat choices for a board are a spicy sliced salami, a sweet pepperoni, and any kind of prosciutto, but the options are endless.

Meat styling can be an adventure, and you can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. For more delicate ones, like ham or prosciutto, you can drape them into stacks or roll them up. Sliced salami or similar proteins can be presented in a fallen stack formation like the crackers or can be folded (in half and then in half again) to border jam jars or cheeses and to tuck into any empty spaces on the board (this always looks fancy and almost floral).

extra, extra!

Extras are so important. These include nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, and any preserved or cured items. When choosing dried and fresh fruits, look for color. They add vibrancy to the picture. Top choices for dried fruits include apricot or mango, both sweet and bright. You basically can’t go wrong with any fresh fruit, in my opinion. As for preserved items, this includes things like stuffed olives, jarred hot peppers in vinegar, pickles, mustard, capers, etc., which aren’t too expensive at most grocery stores.

Nuts are meant to be littered or piled in any space that is still uncovered. Fruits usually look great next to duller crackers or cheese. Keep grapes on the vine; slice apples, pears, or plums thinly; halve tomatoes; add some fancy cuts to your strawberries; and pile the other berries high. The preserved items can really be scattered anywhere, similar to the nuts, or can have their own little dishes.

garnish & finish

At this point, your board should look complete and inviting. If you need a little greenery, add a sprig of rosemary or basil on the side or top of something. Finish the charcuterie with any serving utensils needed: a spreader for spreads and soft cheeses, a small spoon for any extras that require it, a small knife for hard cheeses, and toothpicks are always an essential for a shared appetizer.

An aesthetically pleasing, tasteful board will bring cheer to the holiday season that looks different than any of us have ever experienced. And making charcuterie part of that cheer just got easier!

The Beginner’s Guide to Charcuterie