CHARCUTERIE BOARD (MEAT AND CHEESE PLATTER)
Everyone loves a good charcuterie board, and as of lately, this is all you see on your timeline on Instagram and Pinterest; I am going to show you How to Make an IMPRESSIVE Cheese Board in only 10 minutes. The Perfect cheeses to buy and how to fill your board with tasty snacks will wow your guest! Plus, step-by-step photos of how to put together a cheese board to make it look Pinterest worthy! When I am in the mood to make my cheese boards, I already have most of the ingredients sitting in my pantry. I mostly shop for fresh cheese and meats. The way I make my boards are fast and easy. Great for entertaining. It is holiday time, which means entertaining, parties, and lots of eating. When I am having people over, I love to make a slice of beautiful meat and cheese board when they arrive. It makes the most spectacular appetizer, and everyone loves it!
This Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board how-to has everything you need to create a professional-looking cheese board in your home for just under 50 Bucks! While the food Is cooking, you want to give your guest something to snack on before the big feast.
How to make a Cheese Board
There are five key categories I buy for when I am putting together a cheese board, I am going to walk through each one of them below.


The Meat
Cured meat is the main ingredient on a cheese board, and they serve it on Charcuterie boards all the time for a reason. The saltiness of the cured meat couples very well with cheese! When putting together my cheese board, I like to pick out a couple of different cured meats. The classic route with meats most people knows is Salami, Peppered Salami or Prosciutto de Parma, and Serrano Ham. But I like mines with spicy Pepperoni and honey smoked turkey.
The Cheese
Hey, it is called a cheese board for a reason! Cheese should be the focus of this board. So Much a trip to your local market store and pick out 3-4 of your favorite cheeses! As a rule, to make sure I am not picking all the same kinds, I pick out: 1 semi-soft cheese, one soft cheese, one semi-hard cheese, and one hard cheese. I additionally try to look at the colors, so I am not choosing all white cheeses. (for details on cheese types go to the recipe below)
Hard Cheese (Asiago, Aged Cheddar, Irish Cheddar, Parmesan)
Semi-Hard Cheese (manchego, provolone, comte)
Semi-Soft Cheese (Smoked Gouda, Jarlsberg, blue cheese, Gorgonzola)
Soft Cheese (mozzarella, burrata, goat cheese, Brie)


Fruits & Nuts
I am relatively sure that this is easy, buy seasonal fruits and nuts. I like to add a mixture of salted nuts or candied nuts. (pistachios, almonds pecans, walnuts, cashews) As far as the fruits go, grapes are always useful, pomegranates, blueberries, I’m not a huge fan of figs or dried fruit, but it’s trendy for cheese boards. I like to add fruits and nuts because they are great “space fillers” when you are putting the board together. It helps make the board look full and generous!


The Extras
The extras are where it is at and will help your cheese board stand out from the rest! I like to add things like roasted red peppers and marinated olives fig jam, honey, sun-dried tomato pesto, artichokes, bacon jam. The list goes on. All the “fun” stuff to add to your “Board along with all those tasty items.
How to Assemble a Cheese Board
The BEST and simplest way to assemble a cheese board is to do it in stages!
Grab your Cheese Board. (cutting board slate, wooden cheese board, cutting board, plate, etc.)
Place your “additions” in various parts of the board in bowls.
Assemble your cheese (cut and uncut) all over the board.
Now, add your “Crackers/Breads” to the board. Remember it does not have to be perfect or organized.
Unwrap the cured meat and place them in various spots on the board. Sometimes I will look at my board and see where it needs some color!




Here is the fun part. Take the nuts and fruits you have and fill in any open spots on the board. Place them anywhere. There is no order to this. Just make the board look super full! Now you have made your board. Don’t forget to take plenty of pictures once that guest arrives and start eating. You don’t want to capture your board after everyone has been digging in.