{"id":156995,"date":"2020-08-19T02:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T09:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/?p=156995"},"modified":"2020-08-20T10:07:13","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T17:07:13","slug":"how-to-build-a-charcuterie-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/how-to-build-a-charcuterie-board\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build the Perfect Charcuterie Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

From girls\u2019 night to holiday parties, the charcuterie board is a sophisticated staple in many a festivity. And it should be! It\u2019s basically the culinary equivalent of a party — salty meats, a variety of cheeses, fruits, nuts, jams, crackers, pickles, and spreads –all intermingling in merry, delicious symbiosis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The word <\/span>charcuterie <\/span>comes from the French words <\/span>chair <\/span><\/i>(\u201cflesh\u201d) and <\/span>cuit <\/span><\/i>(\u201ccooked\u201d),\u00a0<\/span>and as the name suggests, charcuterie boards were not always the variable cornucopia of delectable accouterments they are today. In their truest form, they focus primarily on smoked and cured meat products.\u00a0<\/span>But that\u2019s no fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for more than the elevated equivalent of a meat lover\u2019s pizza, read on! The beauty of neo-charcuterie is that it\u2019s completely customizable and the options are endless. We\u2019ll break down basic board anatomy and then offer some inspo to get your creative juices flowing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Anatomy of a Charcuterie Board<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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The Board<\/span><\/h3>\n

When it comes to charcuterie, the visual appeal is almost as important as the flavors. Choose a board that reflects the overall vibe you\u2019ll be evoking (is it clean and classy? Rough and rustic?) and make sure that its size is commensurate with the number of items you\u2019ll be laying out. Not looking to get super fancy? A <\/span>solid cutting board<\/span><\/a> is a great start!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo by Williams Sonoma<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Meats<\/span><\/h3>\n

Since meat is classically the star of the charcuterie show, we\u2019d be remiss to exclude it altogether. You\u2019ll want to grab thinly<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>pre-sliced varieties that are richly flavored but won\u2019t overwhelm the other members of the board.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo by Williams Sonoma<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cheeses<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ahh, cheese. The key here is <\/span>variety<\/span>. <\/span><\/i>There is a lot of flavor-and-texture diversity in the fromaggian world, and good representation couldn\u2019t be more important when it comes to charcuterie. For best results, snag at least one creamy, one hard, one interesting, and one classic.\u00a0<\/span>A good assortment following this pattern might be brie, Parmigiano Reggiano, <\/span>clover honey goat cheese<\/span><\/a>, and a smoky gouda or cheddar.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo by The Baker Mama<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Accents<\/span><\/h3>\n

This is where the party really starts popping. Accents will fill out your board, so make them pretty — and relevant! They should get along well with\u00a0<\/span>your foundational elements (the meat and cheese).\u00a0<\/span>Popular accents include various fresh and dried fruits, fresh herbs, pickles and olives, nuts, jams, honey, spreads (think: pat\u00e9, hummus, or spicy jelly), and bread or crackers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our Favorite Charcuterie Boards<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now that you know the basics, here are some innovative ways to get <\/span>on board <\/span><\/i>with charcuterie.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Summer Board<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Squeeze the last of our summer days with this chic, simple plate.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Vegan Board<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Although vegetables don\u2019t really count as \u201ccooked flesh,\u201d this gorgeous board <\/span>evokes all the refinement and heartiness of the classic charcuterie.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Party Board<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Be the host(ess) with the most(est). This <\/span>epic <\/span><\/i>party board<\/span>\u00a0is sure to be a hit at your next (socially-distanced) gathering.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Little Board<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Ain\u2019t nothing wrong with a one-(wo)man party. Grab the wine and curl up with one of this adorable charcuterie-for-one<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"From girls\u2019 night to holiday parties, the charcuterie board is a sophisticated staple in many ...","author":7532754,"featured_media":156997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[268,260],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/17062156\/CharcuterieBoard.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/17062156\/CharcuterieBoard-386x200.jpg","formated_date":"August 19, 2020","category_name":"Food & Drink","category_icon":"","author_name":"Emma Cloutier","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#76f289","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7532754"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}