We get it. Not everyone is up for the whole turkey dinner spread during the holiday season. So much to coordinate! Not to mention how hard it is to actually visit with your guests if you’re stuck working over a hot stove all afternoon and evening. And don’t even mention all those dishes!
One sure-fire and extremely popular way to simplify a gathering — or even a quiet evening for two — is by creating a charcuterie board. Not only is it fun to put together, it’s a visually stunning feast for the eyes as much as it is for the appetite. It’s also extremely flexible. It can be a single board for a small group, or an entire tabletop spread for a larger gathering. It can be presented flat on a tabletop or on multiple surfaces on different levels, either on cake stands or plates set on top of decorative tin boxes, or be built up vertically in the shape of a Christmas tree.
As if that isn’t enticing enough, dessert charcuterie is now a thing. From a simple tower of creampuffs dotted with cranberries and dusted with powdered sugar “snow” to the super-fancy croquembouche wreathed in spun sugar, to a homey edible gingerbread house made out of out of cookies and candy, there’s no end to what delightful creations you can whip up with the casual grazing concept as your starting point.
Originating in 15th-century France, from the French words chair (flesh) and cuit (cooked), the term referred to butchers (charcutiers) who prepared preserved meats before refrigeration became commonplace. While meat preservation techniques date back to ancient Rome, French guilds turned it into an art form.
What started as a cheese course, a typical after-the-main-meal course for the wealthy in Europe and eventually North America, in the early 1900s this changed to easy finger foods which paired more easily with the newly invented cocktail.
Charcuterie is popular everywhere. In English pubs, for example, you’ll find the Ploughman’s Lunch. Then there’s the Italian salumeria and Japan’s ostumami. But in North America, informal dining options really took off in the 1940s and 1950s with the advent of the smorgasbord. By the 1990s, we were setting up our first official charcuterie boards.
Charcuterie is not only a relaxing way to dine, but also a great way to use up turkey leftovers. Cut the turkey into bite-sized pieces, put it on a salty cracker, add a piece of jalapeno cheese or savory cream cheese and a dollop of cranberry sauce, add a sprig of rosemary for contrast, and you have the perfect turkey dinner in a single bite!
Charcuterie is also incredibly adaptable. Whether it’s Christmas morning, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or a New Year’s celebration, even a birthday party, charcuterie is the perfect crowd-pleasing solution to the quandary about what to feed your hungry guests. Especially if they show up at your door unexpectedly!
The 3-3-3-3 Rule or just wing it?
One simple way to build a perfectly balanced charcuterie board is by utilizing the rule of three: Three cheeses, three meats, three accompaniments and three carbs. You don’t have to stick to this rule, but it helps keep flavours, textures and colours varied without becoming overcomplicated. I’m a big fan of the “just wing it” school of thought, but if you prefer more structure and less confusion at the grocery store, here’s how the rule of three works:
• 3 cheeses – A mix of soft, semi-hard, and hard cheese for different textures.
• 3 meats – A balance of delicate, bold, and slightly spicy to hot flavours.
• 3 accompaniments – Something sweet, something briny, and something crunchy.
• 3 carbs – A variety of crackers, baguette slices, or a fun alternative like pretzel or bagel crisps.
The best aspect about charcuterie is that every grocery store now carries pre-packaged 3-meat varieties already selected for you. But you don’t have to stick to just their choices. You can add pepperoni slices, prosciutto cubes and garlic sausage to the mix.
Cheeses are also a bonanza now, with many imported varieties to try, but local makers also carry an amazing array of cheeses from hard to soft. So feel free to add spreadable brie or cream cheese, cheese curds, jalapeno cheese, truffle, wine, blue, herb, and whatever else tickles your fancy.
The sky is the limit on accompaniments, from fig spreads or jams to spicy olives, you have unlimited options to choose from. You can also add a selection of crudités, like carrot sticks, snap peas, pickled green beans or asparagas, along with fun dips like spicy dill hummus, for example, to provide some freshness.
Carbs are easy. Everyone loves carbs. You can supply a range of crackers from whole grain to vegetable to bacon-flavoured, so everyone can create their own hors d’oeuvres on the fly. Thinly sliced baguettes are also great if you have lots of tasty spreads to try out and want a more loaded, hearty bite.
Charcuterie Meat Roses How-to
This technique is simple but visually stunning. Adding “meat roses” (it’s okay to giggle every time you say this) to your spread is an easy way to dress up your board, making even a simple selection of foods and condiments look super-fancy.
Step 1: Purchase thinly-sliced salami, pepperoni or other cured meats that are flexible.
Step 2: Select a wine, water or shot glass with the desired size opening you think you’ll need.
Step 3: Fold each slice halfway over the rim, overlapping each about halfway as you go.
Step 4: Continue this process for 3-5 layers.
Step 5: Invert the glass and admire your work!
Tip: Refrigerate for 30 minutes with the meat still on the glass to make the rose more stable. Remove it from the glass just before your guests arrive.
So easy, and yet everyone will think you spent all day preparing your spread!
Loaded Cold Hot Chocolate Board
This is perfect for a crowd because you don’t want mugs of steaming hot chocolate accidentally spilled on guests, especially if kids are invited.
Start with oversized holiday-themed mugs and add either homemade or prepared chocolate pudding. You can also use vanilla pudding. Then set up an array of hot chocolate toppings to choose from. Use your imagination: Red and green sprinkles, large and mini marshmallows, chocolate or peppermint syrup, chocolate-dipped pretzels, candy canes in different flavours as stir sticks, chocolate or butterscotch chips, sugar cookies, biscotti, fresh berries, edible gold flakes, cake pops, flavoured whipped toppings in cans, and liquor for the adults. Literally anything you can think of that could be a hot chocolate topping! Pile it up as high as you need to. You may want to include spoons so every morsel can be gobbled up.
Everyone will enjoy creating their custom dessert, and for an additional layer of fun, take photos of each creation or hold an informal contest to see which mug is the crowd favourite and present a small gift to the winner. As a bonus, you can gift everyone their mug at the end of the evening.
Have a wonderful holiday and all the best to you and yours in the new year!