Creating Charcuterie Boards For Your Wedding Day

Charcuterie boards are a popular choice for weddings, offering a delicious and visually appealing option for appetisers or even as a main course. They are easy to put together and can be tailored to suit a range of budgets. The key ingredients are cured meats, cheeses, crackers or bread, and a variety of condiments and garnishes. This article will provide an overview of how to create a charcuterie board for a wedding, covering everything from food quantities to presentation techniques, to ensure your charcuterie board is a show-stopping addition to your special day.

Choose a theme: Italian, Spanish, British, or German

When choosing a theme for your charcuterie board, you can select from a variety of options, including Italian, Spanish, British, or German. Here are some ideas for each theme:

Italian Charcuterie Board:

• Cheeses: Burrata, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano-reggiano, brie, camembert, white sharp cheddar, and manchego cheese.
• Cured Meats: Salami, prosciutto, and other Italian cured meats.
• Accompaniments: Olives, crackers, bread, caprese salad, fruits (such as grapes, blood orange slices), nuts (such as Marcona almonds), pesto sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and fig jam.

Spanish Charcuterie Board:

• Cheeses: Manchego, drunken goat cheese, Iberico, Cabrales or blue cheese, and aged cheddar or gouda.
• Cured Meats: Chorizo and Serrano ham.
• Accompaniments: Romesco sauce, grapes, mixed olives, pickled peppers, almonds, quince paste, bread, and smoked paprika.

British Charcuterie Board:

• Cheeses: Cheddar, stilton, red Leicester, double Gloucester, Lancashire, wensleydale, caerphilly, Cheshire, Shropshire blue, Cornish yarg, Dorset blue Vinny, Isle of Mull cheddar, Orkney smoked cheddar, stinking bishop, and blue Monday.
• Cured Meats: Salami, chorizo, bresaola, ham, or venison.
• Accompaniments: Chutney, pickles, mustard, honey, baguette, rustic bread, crackers, fresh fruit (such as grapes, figs, or apples), nuts (such as almonds or walnuts), marinated or stuffed olives, and fresh herbs (such as rosemary or basil).

German Charcuterie Board:

• Cheeses: Soft cheese, hard cheese, pub cheese, and Limburger cheese.
• Cured Meats: Bratwurst.
• Accompaniments: Pretzels (soft pretzel bites, mini pretzels, and pretzel rods), cornichons, whole grain mustard, blackberries, crisp apples, and sauerkraut.

Pick meats with a variety of textures and flavours

When it comes to selecting meats for your charcuterie board, variety is key. Aim for a mix of textures and flavours to keep things interesting.

Start by choosing meats with different textures. Include some thin, delicate slices, such as prosciutto or smoked country ham, which will pair well with fruits like honeydew melon. Then, add some contrast with thicker, heartier options such as beef tenderloin or paper-thin pork loin. These can stand up to stronger flavours like spicy mustards or cornichon pickles.

Now, let's talk about flavour. Select a variety of meats with different flavour profiles. Go for some spicy options like sopressata or artisanal chorizo, which will add a kick to your board. Then, balance it out with some dry-cured saucissons or hard salami. If you're feeling adventurous, try something unique like mettwurst or liverwurst, a spreadable sausage that's perfect for crackers.

Don't be afraid to mix and match different types of meat to create a well-rounded charcuterie board. Remember, the key is to offer your guests a variety of tastes and textures to discover and enjoy.

Lastly, consider the theme of your wedding or the season you're getting married in. For example, a Spanish-themed board might include chorizo and jamón serrano, while a German-themed board could feature German sausages and spicy mustards. You could also opt for local, seasonal meats to reduce your carbon footprint.

Select cheeses: aged, soft, or smoked

When selecting cheeses for a charcuterie board, it's a good idea to offer a variety of different options to your guests. This can include aged, soft, or smoked cheeses, each of which will bring something different to the board.

Aged cheeses are a great option if you're looking for something with a strong flavour. Cheddar is a good example of a cheese that can be aged, and it's also a crowd-pleaser that most people will be familiar with. If you want to get fancy, look for an aged cheddar with salt crystals. Parmigiano Reggiano is another option in this category, and any leftovers can be used for cooking.

Soft cheeses are always a popular choice, and they have the advantage of being easy to spread. Brie, Camembert, and Chèvre are all excellent options in this category. If you want to get really indulgent, go for a triple cream brie. If you're serving a large group, it's a good idea to get more of the soft cheeses, as these tend to go quickly.

Smoked cheeses, like smoked gouda, can be a great addition to a charcuterie board, but they can also be quite polarising due to their strong flavour. If you do include a smoked cheese, it's a good idea to also offer some non-smoked options for those who may not enjoy the smoky taste.

When creating your charcuterie board, it's a good idea to consider the textures of the cheeses you're selecting. Try to include a range of soft, semi-soft, semi-firm, and firm cheeses. This will give your guests a variety of options to choose from and ensure that there's something for everyone.

In addition to the type of cheese, you'll also want to consider the quantity. For a large charcuterie board, three to five cheeses are usually enough. If you're serving a smaller group, you may only need three cheeses. However, it's always a good idea to have a little extra, just in case!

Pair contrasting flavours: meats and cheeses from the same region work well together

When creating a charcuterie board, it's important to remember that quality is everything. Every piece will be eaten and savoured alone or with something simple like crackers, so the quality of the ingredients can't be hidden.

When pairing contrasting flavours, it's a good idea to choose meats and cheeses from the same region, as they will complement each other well. For example, Jamon Iberico from Spain pairs well with a Crianza Rioja, a complex Cava, or a Rosé to complement the sweetness of the meat. An Italian sausage, on the other hand, pairs well with a Barbera or Barbaresco wine.

For an Italian board, you could include prosciutto, salami, parmigiano, and burrata, along with roasted vegetables and antipasto. Prosciutto is a delicate, salty, and sweet meat with buttery fat flavours that should always be sliced very thinly, otherwise it will be tough to chew. Salami is a good option for those who are less adventurous, and you can include pepperoni, hot-and-spicy chorizo, or saucisson sec, which is a salami-like meat heavy on black pepper and garlic.

A French-themed board could include brie, gruyere, pâté, and saucisson sec, with a crusty baguette. Saucisson sec is a classic French dried salami seasoned with sea salt, pepper, and garlic. It pairs well with a smear of soft cheese on a slice of baguette.

A Spanish-style tapas board could include serrano ham, chorizo sausage, manchego cheese, tapenade, and marcona almonds. Manchego is an earthy, semi-soft sheep's cheese with a tangy, nutty, and grassy flavour profile. It pairs well with salty, spicy meats and can be served with bread, marinated olives, and almonds.

When selecting cheese to pair with charcuterie, it's important to consider texture and acidity. A floppy, mushy, or semi-soft cheese won't provide the necessary contrasting taste to a buttery thin slice of meat. One of the elements, whether it's the cheese or the meat, needs to provide a contrasting flavour.

Breads and crackers: French baguettes, sourdough, crackers, and flatbread

When creating a charcuterie board for a wedding, it's important to offer a variety of breads and crackers to provide different textures, flavours, shapes, and sizes. Here are some ideas and tips for including French baguettes, sourdough, crackers, and flatbread in your wedding charcuterie board:

French Baguettes

French baguettes are a popular choice for charcuterie boards, as they pair well with savory spreads and dips. Consider offering a delicious, neutral-flavoured baguette to allow the flavour of the charcuterie to shine. To serve, thinly slice the baguette and crisp it in the oven for a few minutes until lightly toasted. You can provide a separate basket for the baguette toasts if there's not enough room on the board.

Sourdough

Sourdough is a great addition to a charcuterie board because its unique flavour works well with both sweet and savoury spreads. Toasting the sourdough can also elevate the taste experience. However, avoid seeded or fruit and nut-studded sourdough, as these can detract from the flavour of the charcuterie.

Crackers

When selecting crackers, aim for a variety of textures, flavours, and shapes. Choose from flaky, buttery crackers, multigrain crackers, flavoured crackers, and flatbread crackers. Pick one cracker from each flavour profile, ensuring they have different shapes. For example, you could select a multi-seed rectangular cracker, square buttery crackers, and triangular flatbread crackers.

Flatbread

Flatbread crackers are a great option, offering a floury flavour with a tortilla-like texture. You can also include plain flatbread, which pairs well with the meats and cheeses on the charcuterie board.

Remember to offer a variety of gluten-free options for guests with gluten intolerances or allergies. This can include gluten-free crackers, breadsticks, or seed-based crackers, as well as gluten-free breads.

Frequently asked questions