6 Easy Steps to Creating the Perfect Charcuterie Board

So, you said that you'd bring the cheeseboard. Not to put any pressure on you, but the cheeseboard is a big deal — it's usually the most popular dish at the party. If you're not sure where to start, I'm here to tell you it's as easy as one, two, three (and maybe a few more), and after you've done it once, you'll know how to make a charcuterie board in to time!

Before you start building, you first need to consider how many people you're going to feed, since that will determine how much food you need and how big your board should be. On average, you should plan to serve one to two ounces of cheese and two ounces of charcuterie per person if the board is an hors d'oeuvre. If you're serving it as the main course, you're going to want to double the amounts and serve it with plenty of carbs to round out the meal. This can be anything from crackers and fresh-baked bread to nuts and fruit, or even bite-sized snacks like pinchos.

A good rule of thumb is to include a few more types of cheeses than meats, and to scale the variety of cheeses and meats to the size of your board and your party. For a smaller gathering of four to six people, this would look like two to three cheeses and one to two meats, plus fruit, nuts, olives, crackers, jam/honey, and garnish like fresh herbs. If you're serving more people, just add more of everything!

Here's the step-by-step for how to build a charcuterie board.

For this board, I focused my cheese selections on different textures and flavor profiles. The Bayley Hazen Blue, a soft cow's milk cheese, is dense and creamy. Like most blue cheeses, this one is peppery, but also has a grassy, toasted-nut sweetness, giving it a balance of flavors that makes it great for guests who may not have tried blue cheese before. The Harry & David Gouda, a semisoft cow's milk cheese, is known for its caramel-like flavor and is a great option to have on the board for guests who prefer a milder flavor. Finally, the Sartori Rosemary and Olive Oil Asiago, a hard cow's milk cheese, has a rich, fruity, nutty flavor that lends it to pairing well with the crackers and nuts (and chardonnay, if you're serving wine).

On this board, I styled the blue cheese and Asiago on their own. Because of its creaminess and tendency to crumble, blue cheese can't be cleanly cut into smaller pieces and should always be left in a wedge for guests to cut their own servings. I decided to leave the Asiago as a whole wedge too, to serve as a focal point for the board. Lastly, the Gouda was sliced into cubes to distinguish it from the other cheeses and add a different visual to the board. Depending on the amount and types of cheese you serve, you can also cut them into triangles, rectangles, or squares, so that each one stands out on its own.

If you create a bigger board, you can add in a few varieties of crackers; ones seasoned with herbs can provide extra flavor and pairing options.

For the fruit, I chose grapes and cherries, both because they're in season right now so will taste the freshest and because they add bright spots of color to the board. If you're serving sliced apples or pears, you can brush a bit of lemon juice on top so that they don't brown before you serve them.

There are a couple ways you can arrange the meat on the board. The simplest methods are to put the pieces in a pile or to arrange them in a line, overlapping the previous piece. Both of these allow guests to easily grab a single slice. If you have bigger pieces of meat or charcuterie that's more pliable, like prosciutto, you can fold them in half or quarters before placing them on the board. Or you could even create salami roses, for added height and visual interest.

And there you have it! Time to serve your board. Pair it with a glass of wine or a seasonal cocktail like a pear mojito.