How To Build A Killer Charcuterie Board04 / 03 / 15

To me, there is no appetizer more perfect than a charcuterie board.

Imagine yourself sitting on the patio of your favorite restaurant with friends, sipping a crisp wine or drinking a nice porter, snacking away on fatty meats, creamy cheeses, sweet jams, and all sorts of pickled things. That, my friends, is my kind of Spring happy hour.

How To Build A Killer Charcuterie Board | Things I Made Today

A charcuterie board doesn’t follow a recipe, but instead is a lesson in composition. I start my boards with the meats—a dry-cured salami, a cooked sausage, something thinly sliced, like prosciutto or Spanish jamón Serrano, and maybe a pâté, depending on the crowd. The textures and flavors are diverse and give the board variety.

Next comes the cheeses: I typically stick to one or two, but you can go bigger here. I like a good gorgonzola, but sometimes add a sharp cheese for good measure.

Then the pickled vegetables. These can be overlooked on some charcuterie boards, but are without a doubt my favorite part. I like to take the “taste the rainbow” approach, making sure almost every color is represented. Because let’s face it, you can pickle almost anything: red peppers, carrots, greens, red onions. You name it. If it’s a vegetable, you’ll want to pickle it. And if you don’t know how to pickle, you can follow my recipes below for carrots, collard greens, and red onions.

The fourth component, in my opinion, is optional. Many beautiful charcuterie boards contain a sweet jam (fig is always a good choice) to counterbalance some of the salty and fatty components. I tend to go heavier on the pickled items and skip the fruit, which is odd considering my affinity to eat jam straight out of the jar. If you’re not into jam, dried fruit like apricots, cranberries, or figs are a good substitution.

Next up is bread. I always choose a dense rye bread to complement the other flavors (Madison Sourdough has a killer sprouted rye), making sure that the slices are cut small—I want to enjoy the bread but I don’t want it to fill me up so I run out of space for all the other good stuff.

How To Build A Killer Charcuterie Board | Things I Made Today

Last but not least, no charcuterie board of mine is complete without a good helping of Dijon mustard. Just a dab on a piece of rye bread layered underneath a slice of andouille sausage and a little pickled collard greens is just what you need to round out your board.

So build your board, call your friends, and go enjoy the intellectual conversation that inevitably arises while eating your charcuterie board.

*Note that the recipes below make more pickled vegetables than you likely need on a single charcuterie board, but you’ll find yourself eating the remainder straight out of the jar for the next week.

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Pickled Carrots, Collard Greens, and Red Onion
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Recipe type: Appetizer
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
For the carrots:
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch strips
  • ¾ cup white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
For the collard greens:
  • 1¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1¼ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seed
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • ½ pound collard greens, cut into strips
For the red onion:
  • 1 red onion, sliced thin
  • ¾ cup white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 4 garlic cloves, whole
  • 1 bay leaf
Instructions
To make the carrots:
  1. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, maple syrup, and salt to a simmer. Add carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool, and transfer to a jar. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  2. Carrots will keep in fridge for up to two weeks.
To make the collard greens:
  1. In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar, water, fennel seed, red chili flakes, salt, and honey to a simmer. Add greens and stir until they wilt. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat, let cool, and transfer to jar. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  2. Greens will keep in fridge for up to two weeks.
To make the red onions:
  1. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, maple syrup, and salt to a simmer. Add garlic and red onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool, and transfer to a jar. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  2. Red onions will keep in fridge for up to two weeks.

 

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