Your Guide to the Ultimate Charcuterie Board (2024)

FAQs

What is the 3 3 3 3 rule for charcuterie? ›

What is the 3-3-3-3 Rule for Charcuterie Boards? No matter the style of the wood charcuterie board, you can always follow the 3-3-3-3 rule. Every charcuterie board should have three meats, three cheeses, three starch options, and three accompaniments, such as fruit, nuts, or veggies.

The board measured 20 feet by 14 feet and was basically a giant replica of Boarderie's best-selling Arte board — blown up to 169 times its usual size.

Cheese is usually sliced much thicker than meat, both by the store and by your guests, so you'll need a little more than the meat. So pick one cheese from each category, but don't sweat if you want fewer than four cheeses.

About 2-3 ounces per person will be enough if the charcuterie isn't an entire meal. So you will need about 100-150 ounces in total. On the other hand, if the charcuterie will be an entire meal, then you will need about 5 ounces per person, which brings it to 250 ounces in total.

Many ingredients used in charcuterie boards are high in sodium, including deli meats, dry sausages, cheeses, salted nuts, pretzels and crackers. The recommendation for daily sodium intake for adults is 2,300 milligrams or less. To reduce the sodium load on your board, add more fresh or dried fruits and raw veggies.

This includes cooked and cured meat products like hams, sausages, terrines, and pâtés. While traditionally that was the jest of it, these days a charcuterie board implies a spread of cured meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, spreads, crackers, and breads.

Ritz crackers are buttery, salty and a staple in a lot of homes. They are sturdy and a good choice for your cheese board. Water Crackers - Water crackers are a classic. They don't have a ton of flavor, which means they go well with basically anything on your large or small charcuterie board.

How far ahead should you make a charcuterie board? ›

Yes, Charcuterie boards can be prepared ahead of time. I would recommend waiting to slice any fruit until right before serving. Otherwise, the ingredients can be prepped and arranged up to 24 hours in advance. Just be sure to wrap it with cling wrap and store it in the refrigerator.

Why are charcuterie boards so expensive? Quality ingredients: Premium meats, artisanal cheeses, and gourmet accompaniments often have a higher price tag due to their superior taste and production methods.

However, the art of charcuterie and cheese boards stems from France. While charcuterie is a fancy word for cured meat, the actual French translation is flesh cooked. The idea of cooked flesh sounds terrifying, but these words are dated back to the 15th century when people used every last bit of meat.

Something Sweet & Something Spicy.

The way that I usually accomplish this rule is by having a spicy meat and a sweet jam. If you followed my "Something Hard, Something Soft Rule", then you should have a creamy mild cheese picked out for your board. A variety of Jams will pair beautifully with that creamy cheese.

Charcuterie is divided into three types: forcemeats, sausages and salumi, an Italian word for “salted meats,” which includes preserved whole cuts of meat. Forcemeats are spreadable mixtures of meat and offal (organ meats) like rillettes, pâtés and terrines.