Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: N/A
Skill level: Easy
Equipment needed:
Knife, cutting board and a large wooden display board
Ingredients:
Cured meats: (100-200 g each)
Bison salami
Black forest ham
Copa salami (pork)
Cognac and black pepper pate
Antipasto:
Pickled hot peppers
Pitted green olives
Toasted walnut pieces
Fig and onion jam
Breads: (local and fresh)
Sliced grilled baguette
Cranberry-pistachio crackers
Cheeses: (200-300 g per variety)
Triple aged cheddar
Soft goat's milk cheese
English blue cheese
Hard sheep's milk cheese
Method:
Arrange the different types of cured meats on the board first.
Next, add the cheese. Leave the cheese pieces whole and provide small cheese knives for self service, this has more visual impact than chopped up piles of cheese.
You can use between three to five different cheeses, but aim to make each one unique. Try one hard cheese, one soft cheese, one goat's milk cheese and one one sheep's milk cheese.
Add thinly sliced baguette that has been grilled or toasted (we grilled ours in a grill pan) and paired them with sweet and savoury dehydrated crackers.
Try adding some crunchy nuts (we used roasted walnuts) and grapes too! This will add texture and contrast to the meats and cheeses. The grapes have a high water content which will help balance out the saltiness of the charcuterie.
You can add sweet and savoury jam, jelly or compote to accent the bold flavour of the cheese and cured meats (we used a fig and onion jam).
Lastly, adding pickled items like olives and peppers help cut the richness of the cured meats and cheeses. Anything pickled will work so use what you like - peppers, carrots, green beans, beets, etc.
