It has that smoky flavor from being tossed on the grill (or a grill pan) for a few minutes. While good sturdy crackers are a classic, my personal favorite conveyance for cheese is grilled French bread. Bread sticks also add a unique element to the board. I like to put out one to two options for people to decide. Easy charcuterie plate combinations:īreads, crackers, chips, crisps – call it what you want, they are all vehicles to get the cheese to your mouth. I like to pick something hard like salami, saucisson, or Spanish cured chorizo, thinly sliced on the bias something soft and rich like a pate or rillettes and dry cured meats like prosciutto (always prosciutto, it is a fan favorite), soppressata, coppa, or speck. This is another time to try to mix up the textures. It seems fancy but the rustic pâté is pretty much pulled pork stored in its own fat.
#Another word for cheese platter cracked
I like pork rillettes because it is easy to spread on bread and tastes great topped with some cracked black pepper and whole grain mustard. Larousse Gastronomique, the culinary encyclopedia, defines charcuterie as, “products based on pork meat or offal…The numerous preparations of charcuterie include cured meats, fresh and smoked sausages, pâté, andoullies, andouillettes, black puddings (blood sausage), boudins blancs, sausagemeat, hams, galantines, pâté en croute, ready cooked dishes and foremeats”. “Charcuterie” isn’t just one of my favorite words to say, an assortment of meats goes a long way to complement a selection of cheeses on a charcuterie plate. Creamy: Brillat-Savarin (my favorite- it’s a triple cream cheese, very buttery) or La Tur.Firm: Parmigiano-Reggiano (I like the crystals in it) or Gruyère.If i have more guests then I will buy backups for those cheeses and fill in the board as needed. A selection of 7 cheeses will be my max – any more and it gets overwhelming. For a visually appealing spread, I plate an odd number of cheeses, using either 3 or 5.Īrrange them on separate areas of the plate and separate the similar textured cheeses to offer a visual variety. If you are going to just serve one cheese, then skip it, but if you’re offering a selection of a few cheeses then I like to include a blue. I don’t always include blue cheese because I feel it can be very polarizing – some people hate it and others love it. One of my favorite cheeses is Cowgirl Creamery’s Red Hawk, a soft cheese with a washed rind. As long as you include one familiar cheese to draw people in then you can go crazy with some unique cheeses. This can be a hard cheese like Parmesan (who doesn’t like Parmesan?) or Cheddar. That being said – don’t go too crazy, make sure to serve at least one cheese that people are familiar with. Offer a variety of types of milk as well cow, goat, sheep, they all have different tastes and textures. This can be into alternating triangles, cubes or slices.
If you are serving any hard cheeses, cut them into slices ahead of time to make it easier for guests to eat. Try finding a combination of aged, firm, soft, crumbly and creamy cheeses and let cheeses sit for 30 minutes at room temperature to let the flavors shine. My number one rule when putting together a cheese plate is to offer a variety of styles of cheeses. There is such a wide variety of cheeses out there it can be hard to narrow down my choice to just one.
#Another word for cheese platter how to
How to Put Together A Great Cheese & Charcuterie Board.For additional tips pre-order my cookbook, Share + Savor, filled with plenty of appetizer and entertaining boards! How to Put Together A Great Cheese & Charcuterie Board Use my tips to impress your guests with an epic cheese and charcuterie plate at your next gathering. The same goes for cheeses sometimes I need some firm Parmesan and sometimes I need some super creamy Brie. With television, sometimes I’m in the mood for a comedy, other times a crime show or drama.
Trying to narrow down my favorite cheeses is like trying to tell you my all-time favorite television show there are just so many good choices. While any sane person will still love whatever cheese and crackers you serve, I’m going to help you impress your guests with cheese board ideas and more. Let me start by answering a commonly asked question: what is a charcuterie board? It’s the art of assembling meats and cheeses accompanies by fruit, nuts and crackers for easy and quick hors d’oeuvres.Ĭheese and charcuterie boards are an art form that involves much more than throwing some cheeses and crackers on a plate and serving it to guests – it’s more than just a meat and cheese board.