How to Make a Fall Charcuterie Board
Here are the cheeses, charcuterie, condiments, fruit, nuts, decorations, and everything else you need to arrange your very best fall charcuterie board this season.
Servings: 6 to 8 people
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Ingredients
- A variety of cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk cheeses (see article for suggestions)
- A variety of cheeses of different textures, age, and color (see article for suggestions)
- Assorted charcuterie, such as prosciutto di Parma, salami, andouille, bresaola, Coppa, and so on
- Fresh fruit, such as crisp apples or grapes, ripe pears, and dried apricots
- Assorted nuts, such as pecans or almonds
- Sweet condiments, such as honey, chutney, fig jam, apple butter, and preserves
- Decorative mini pumpkins (washed) and a few springs of very fresh rosemary, sage, or thyme
- Assorted crackers, crisps, pretzels, or slices of fresh bread
Instructions
Start your fall charcuterie board by arranging the cheeses, then charcuterie
- Anchor your charcuterie board with your cheeses, cut as necessary, in different areas of your board. Cheddar shold be diced and Manchego sliced into triangles, for example. Soft cheeses like chèvre and brie should be served in a log or wedge, respectively, with an appropriate knife or spreader. Crumbly cheese like an aged Parmigiano or aged gouda should have a pointy spade knife, if you have one.
- Add the charcuterie. Create height and interest by ribboning your prosciutto, or fold slices of aged salami in half or quarters. Do not merely plop the charcuterie directly from the package onto the board, or it will sit too flat and remain stuck together, which is hard for guests to use.
Enhance your charcuterie and cheeses with the "extras."
- Fill in the charcuterie board with fruit, crackers, and condiments. No need to have a huge variety, but a couple different crackers or fruits will look more fun and textural, and offer more variety for eaters. Place jammy condiments like chutneys or fruit butters in small bowls. Bowls of dips and things tend to look best in the corners, not center, of the board.
- Add some tasteful decorative elements. For a good fall charcuterie board, I would add mini pumpkins (washed, please!), and sprigs of very fresh, cold-weather herbs like sage, thyme, or rosemary.
- Don't forget utensils! Cheese spreaders and knives for soft or block cheeses, some toothpicks for olives and small cheese cubes, and the like.
Notes
Nothing is prettier or tastier than a gorgeous fall charcuterie board, filled with assorted cheeses, meats, condiments, and seasonal garnish.
Feel free to have fun and vary things up. You can make this a couple of days in advance, and then cover in the fridge, but don't add crackers or sliced oxidizing fruits like apples until just before you serve.