How to Make a Charcuterie Board

We get it, seeing those big, beautiful charcuterie boards can be intimidating. But making your own charcuterie board doesn’t have to be hard! We teamed up with charcuterie board expert, Fig&Bleu, to teach you how to create your own simple, yet stunning charcuterie board at home using our Niman Ranch charcuterie. Our charcuterie is hand crafted using traditional techniques, uncured – which means no nitrates or nitrites – and has no artificial ingredients or preservatives so you can feel confident you are snacking on high-quality protein. A perfect appetizer for any occasion, your friends and family will beg you to teach them how to make their own!

Ingredients:

• Niman Ranch Uncured Genoa Salame
• Niman Ranch Uncured Hot Sopressata
• Niman Ranch Uncured Capocollo
• Niman Ranch Uncured Beef Summer Sausage
• Grilled Olives
• Spicy Honey
• Apricot and Cardamom Jam
• Manchego Cheese
• Camembert Cheese
• Fig and Honey Goat Cheese
• Cheddar Cheese
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Fresh Figs
• Marcona Almonds
• Edible Flowers, Sage, Thyme

Step 1: Gather Your Tools

Pick out your favorite board, a variety of Niman Ranch charcuterie, a selection of different cheeses, and your favorite accoutrements, or additional items added for flavoring. We used fresh fruit, Marcona almonds, grilled olives, edible garnishes, jam and a spicy honey for this board.

Step 2: Prepare

Wash the fruit and edible garnishes, cut the cheeses, slice and fold charcuteries and fill the ramekins, otherwise known as the small ceramic dishes.

Step 3: Assemble

Place the ramekins. We like to place them on different sides of the board instead of clustering them together. You will notice this technique being used in every step when building a well balanced charcuterie board.

Step 4: Place Your Cheeses

We like positioning cheeses next to items they would pair well with. If you are unsure, there are great resources on the internet to help you! On our board we placed the camembert next to the honey. Remember, when placing cheese, leave some space in between for other items.

Step 5: Style Your Meats

Pro tip – Work with the shape of the board. For example, the board chosen is round, so cascading the Niman Ranch Uncured Beef Summer Sausage along the edge and the Niman Ranch Uncured Genoa Salame along the opposite side helps with the overall flow of the board. One of the easiest ways to elevate your board is by simply refolding the Niman Ranch Uncured Capocollo in half and just slightly laying them on top of each other. It makes this thinly sliced meat easy to grab and go.

Step 6: Fill the Gaps

Place the accoutrements, placing similar colors apart from each other. If you see a space with too much of one color, add some strawberries to help break up the color. Fill any smaller spaces with nuts.

Step 7: Garnish

Add some edible garnishes to take your board to the next level. Not only is it beautiful, but it’s also an extra added flavor profile to your perfect bite. You can always add garnish to big spaces of color that need to be broken up.

Step 8: Graze

Enjoy your masterpiece with your friends and family!

Fig&Bleu is a niche small business from Minnesota with a big passion for all things tasty. Owner, Sam Bonnett, creates charcuterie boards and grazing tables that are not only delicious and perfectly paired, but beautiful to look at. Follow Fig&Bleu on social media to see her beautiful charcuterie creations.