How to put together the perfect Cheese and Charcuterie Board

We put the must in mustard, the cute in charcuterie, and the jam in …er … jam, with these tips for a spectacular cheese board. Our friends at Murray’s Cheese provided the vittles in the board above, and we combined it with a few home-made favorites.

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There’s something about a grazing board that’s just festive. As a concept, it’s hard to beat – arrange delicious (and beautiful) treats on a board or tray, add some fruit, nuts, maybe a condiment or two? Add some nice wine, beer or cocktails? WHAT IS BETTER THAN THAT. (Nothing. Nothing is better than that.)

You’ve probably seen viral videos with hashtags like #snackdinner #girldinner and #grazingtable. It turns out people love being able to nibble tasty things and experience lots of different flavors. Who knew? And of course during the holidays, it’s the perfect excuse to get people together in a fun, casual way.

Here are our recommendations for a great cheese board — and we’ve used Murray’s MVP (Most Valuable Platter) Cheese Box as inspiration (they really are our favorite cheesemonger and they happen to ship), but you may find local specialities that will complement any selection.

Below, you’ll also find our suggestions for charcuterie, as well as condiments and additions to make your board both delicious and beautiful.

Assemble a variety of cheeses

The key to putting together a selection of cheese is to give everyone something you know they’ll love, and adding something surprising they might not be familiar with. Mix it up! Find some milder, hard cheeses like a good cheddar and/or gruyere, combine with a piquant blue-veined cheese, a tangy goat cheese, and, finally, a cheese to bring the funk. Here’s a combination we recommend.

Cave-Aged Gruyere — A nutty, buttery flavor with that wonderful crystalline crunch that comes from the aging process. You can eat it as it is, but of course it melts beautifully: we’ve combined this gruyere with the cheddar in one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever. It’s also great with a dollop of store-bought or home-made pistachio cream.

Point Reyes Original Blue — This is a very friendly blue, and even people who might be blue-averse will probably enjoy it. It’s a little creamy, a little crumbly, and the finish is tangy without being overpowering. It’s great with a drizzle of honey, a sweet grape or some slices of ripe apple or pear.

Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog — This, for us, is the food of the Gods. If the perfect goat’s cheese cheesecake existed, it would taste a lot like this. While it’s on the milder side of flavor, you still get a beautiful edge of those goat cheese notes. The bloomy rind and ash layer really add a lot of interest to the experience. We combine this with a little honey or fig jam as a sweet contrast.

Jasper Hill Cabot Clothbound Cheddar — If you’ve never had a tangy, aged cheddar, you’ve missed out. Jasper Hill’s offering has notes of butterscotch and nuts, and begs to be crumbled, not sliced. This is one of the best we’ve tasted. It would add enormous flavor to a grilled cheese sandwich or mac and cheese, but it’s so good, we like it on its own with a slice of crisp apple.

Meadow Creek Dairy Grayson — This funky cheese is the party guest that you weren’t sure about inviting at first, but then they made themselves the life and soul of the gathering and led an unforgettable rendition of “I Will Survive”, so they’re now an inner-circle pick. It has the classic pungency of a washed-rind cheese, and is beautifully runny when brought to room temperature. If you love Taleggio, this cheese will be your next favorite.

TIP: For the best flavor and texture, all these cheeses should be taken out of refrigeration about an hour before you plan to serve them. When you come to re-store the leftovers, keep them wrapped carefully in the original cheese paper. If they came wrapped in plastic, re-wrap them in a breathable cheese paper (we’ve had great results from these Formaticum Cheesepaper Bags).

aSSEMBLE YOUR Charcuterie:

• Choose a variety of meats — We like to go with at least three for a simple board, adding more options as the guest list grows. You’ll want to mix up the flavors: something a little sweet, something spicy, something delicate. Our favorites are thinly sliced dried salami, like Saucisson Sec. This air-dried sausage is savory and almost a little briny. We like it sliced thin so it almost melts in the mouth. Chorizo is a great spicy option. Its bright red color and bold flavor livens things up. We like to buy a whole log so we can slice it a little thicker than the saucisson. Our other must-have is cured ham, like Prosciutto or Jambon Sec. Sliced paper-thin, this delicate, almost sweet ham is rimmed with a thin sliver of meltingly tender fat. Separate each slice and drape it gently onto your board for the most beautiful presentation. Mix up your flavors as you add more options — maybe a sausage flavored with porcini mushrooms (Saucisson Sec Aux Cépes) or thinly sliced smoked duck breast.

• Add a Pâté or Mousse — Pâtés can be coarse or smooth, and are often made with duck, goose, chicken or pork liver. These rich slabs are usually flavored with wine or cognac and sometimes truffles. They have an earthy flavor that is both robust and delicate. Mousses are made with similar ingredients but are even smoother, lighter and airier. Both pâté and mousse are wonderful paired with spicy mustard and tart pickles.

choose some condiments

• Jams, preserves, chutneys, mustards and pickles — store-bought jams are fine (we like slightly less sweet ones, like red currant or fig), but homemade Red Onion Jam with Wine, Honey and Thyme is easy to make and it’s a stellar accompaniment to meat, cheese and pâté. This stuff is addictive. If we have time, we also like to make our own Maple Mustard. Yes, you can buy mustard at any store but this homemade version is in another league entirely. It’s bright and fiery and just a little sweet. We sometimes make our own pickled vegetables but little French cornichons are a classic accompaniment for a reason: they’re awesome. Tiny, bright red teardrop peppers are also a fun pairing. Use your favorites — pepperoncini, pickled jalapeños, really anything briny and sharp is going to work.

• Fresh fruit and vegetables — We like to keep these simple and seasonal. Fresh grapes (either red or green) are usually good year-round. If you can find fresh figs, great, though apricots and other stone-fruits are good too. In Fall and Winter, sliced apples, pears and quince are great options, especially during the holidays. Dried fruit, as long as they’re not too leathery, are fine additions. The one variety of fruit we don’t recommend is high-acid types like citrus, kiwi and pineapple. These are more of an issue for cheese than charcuterie but their assertive flavors can make cheese taste acrid and curdled. Vegetables are great for texture and color. Our favorites are fresh radishes, endive, and thinly sliced fennel.

• Bread and Crackers — Crusty baguette, sliced diagonally on a sharp angle is ideal for charcuterie. Breadsticks and crackers are also fine choices but avoid ones that are highly flavored (especially garlic and onion-flavored varieties). The meat and cheeses on your board have delicate, subtle flavors that can be masked or overwhelmed. If you like texture, stick with sesame or poppy seeds which are fairly neutral.

• A few miscellaneous extras — Roasted nuts, vegetable terrines and dips like caponata or tapenade can fill things out nicely. Olives are always welcome, though remember that there are a lot of salty flavors on the table already. Compound butter and flavored olive oils are nice for spreading and dipping. Varieties of honey (plain, or flavored with things like truffles) are nice to drizzle over certain cheeses (brie, camembert, and Percorino Romano come to mind).

• Wine and Beer — Red, white and rosé wine are all appropriate to serve. We like to have a variety since spicy, bold flavors pair well with red wind and lighter, more delicate flavors go better with white and rosé. Choose a light to medium-bodied red wine with a hint of earthy aromas and a balanced fruit-forward bouquet. For white, a light-bodied dry wine that’s crisp and refreshing is a good bet. Lambruscos are a good bubbly option with medium acidity. Beer is also a great pairing. Choose medium-bodied beers such as an Ale, IPA or Bock Beer.

how to make it beautiful

• Aesthetics and Amounts — You can typically plan on 2 to 3 ounces of cheese and charcuterie per person for a cocktail party. Cheese and charcuterie are best served at room temperature so take everything out of the refrigerator one or two hours before your guests arrive.
• The products are the star, so I like to keep the look of my boards simple and rustic. Wood boards are my favorite, though a big marble slab is also nice. I stay away from silver or metal which can look too formal for this type of spread.
• I like to group things together in large bunches (for example, a big array of salamis and ham on one side, next to sliced bread and breadsticks, then a few radishes, some grapes etc). This can keep the board from looking too chaotic and hodgepodge. You want the board to look full but not so crowded that people are afraid to dig in out of fear of a structural collapse.
• Plan on a separate knife for each cheese (to prevent mixing flavors) and little forks for pickles and spreaders for jam. Olives, nuts and pickles can be placed in little bowls or added straight onto the board in mounds.
• For decoration, I like pops of green, like fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage. Maybe some edible flowers (be careful of anything toxic, even if not meant to be eaten).

Don’t forget your couteau — and bon appétit!

Here are our picks for home-made accompaniments to a great cheese and charcuterie board.