5 Steps to Create the Perfect Meat and Cheese Board

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Glasses clinking, the soft hum of voices punctuated by laughter ringing out merrily, a bit of music playing in the background – this is the sound of happiness. Or at least it is in my book.

The sounds of people enjoying themselves as they dig into the food I’ve prepared always brings a smile to my face. I love to entertain!

Whether for holiday entertaining season or for a fun dinner party at the end of the week, you may be making plans to have guests over soon. I know some people get stressed out trying to plan everything, but hosting a gathering doesn’t have to be a headache.

Just because you’re entertaining doesn’t mean it has to be complicated or extravagant. A simple meat and cheese board paired with some good wine really goes a long way to creating an impressive and inviting spread of food.

If you’ve never put together a cheese board or a charcuterie (meat) spread, you may be wondering what exactly you will need.

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to put this appetizer or light meal together, especially if you follow these tips. Keep reading to learn how!

1. Make Your Main Event the Star of the Show

First things first: cheese is always the main attraction. Everything else that you serve is just there to complement or highlight the cheese, so make sure you get the good stuff.

I highly recommend going to a high-end grocery store or even a specialty food store to purchase the dairy delights for your platter.

Not only will your local cheesemonger – or a grocery store like Whole Foods, with a dedicated staff in the specialty foods department – have a much wider selection from which to choose, they will also have knowledgeable people behind the counter who can answer any questions you may have, and help you make your selections.

How many kinds will you need? You don’t want to serve more than 3 or 4 different types, so as to avoid entirely overwhelming the palates of your guests.

As far as how much of each kind, about 2-3 ounces of each variety per person should be enough.

A general rule of thumb for a cheese board, and the best foundational guideline for beginners, is to have one hard, one soft, and one fresh cheese.

People who like blue cheeses will also include a blue. I am not one of those people, so I tend to leave that out of my presentation.

Now, I’m going to help you out even more, and give you a few examples for each category. If you find yourself overwhelmed by all the choices, keep things regional.

Hard

Hard cheeses are my favorite. The options are seemingly endless, especially when you get into the realm of aging. Aged varieties will have a sharper or tangier taste, giving a bolder, fuller flavor in your mouth.

Cheddar and gouda are two varieties that especially benefit from a longer aging process.

Parmesan is always aged, but parmesan that is aged longer than usual has a more distinctive flavor, especially if you buy the name-protected Parmigiano Reggiano which is aged for a minimum of 12 months.

Asiago

• Italian origin
• Semi-sweet
• Slightly nutty
• Faintly sharp

Cheddar

• American, English, or Irish origin
• Ranges from mild to very sharp

Gouda

• Dutch origin
• Buttery and nutty
• Slightly sweet but tangy at the same time

Gruyere

• Swiss origin
• Smooth and creamy mouthfeel
• Nutty and slightly salty

Manchego

• Spanish origin
• Made from sheep’s milk
• Mild and creamy
• Slightly tart

Parmesan

• Italian origin
• Nutty and salty
• The more aged varieties have a slightly grainy texture

Bloomy or Soft

With delightfully creamy and fudgy textures and flavors ranging from mild and milky to mushroomy and pungent, bloomy-rinded and soft-ripened varieties provide indulgent richness to the plate.

Brie

• French origin
• Typically a white rind
• Creamy mouthfeel
• Buttery, yet earthy flavor

Camembert

• French origin
• White rind
• Rich and buttery flavor

Taleggio

• Italian origin
• Thin, brownish rind
• Mild, fruity yet tangy flavor

A true fromage connoisseur would never even consider this, but for this category you could also include one of those spreadable herb and cheese blends. Or, you could make a cheese ball.

Fresh

Aged for a limited length of time, fresh varieties provide saltiness and acidy like feta and fresh chevre, while others like delicate ricotta offer a moist and lactic choice.

These styles can provide necessary balance to more aged choices on a platter. Some of them are also perfect as the first layer to a composed crostini!

Feta

• Greek origin
• Salty and tangy flavor

Goat

• Range of origins
• Sharp and tangy flavor

Mozzarella

• Italian origin
• Mild and slightly sweet flavor

Ricotta

• Italian origin
• Sweet and creamy
• Similar to cottage cheese

Take a look at this article about fresh cheese varieties to discover even more options for this part of your platter.

Blue

Any cheese ripened with the mold Penicillium with have green, gray, blue, or black veins or spots of mold running through it. Bold and pungent, choose one of these when you know there are fellow blue cheese fans at the party.

Stilton

• English origin
• Very creamy with a complex, strong flavor

There are, of course, many more varieties available in each category. I have listed the options that are used most frequently, just to give you an idea of what falls under each category.

I encourage you to explore, and discover new taste sensations – learn about what’s unique to the region where you live, and feature a few unusual or unique options to add even more interest to your tasty spread.

Chances are you have at least one local cheese maker in your area, be it goat, sheep, or cow’s milk cheese. Do a little research, and see what you can find.

I love supporting local artisans, so don’t be afraid to try new things and at least sample your local offerings.

Remember, cheese tastes best at room temperature, so be sure to plate everything at least 30 minutes before guests arrive. You want those flavors to really pop!

2. Pick Some Great Secondary Flavor Sources

Now that we have the assiette a fromage all situated, let’s talk about the meat side of things.

Since your cheddar and brie, or whatever you select, is the main event, you don’t need to go overboard on the meats.

This means you just need to pick one or two yummy options. If you were doing a full charcuterie platter, you would need more variety, but in this case it’s not necessary.

For the full charcuterie spread, you will typically see a cured meat, an encased meat (sausage), and often a pate. When combining the charcuterie with a cheese tray, you can limit this selection and just offer one or two different varieties.

I would recommend that you only offer one type of really smoky meat. Too much smoke flavor and soon all anyone will taste is the smoke.

There is nothing wrong with heading to the store and buying a premade pate. Lots of markets make their own, and they taste just as good as any you might make at home.

3. Make a Big Visual Impact with Accompaniments

Yes, you could just serve cheddar, Stilton, and mozzarella with some salami and Jamon Serrano on a piece of slate and call it a day, and it would be delicious. However, the presentation in that case might be a little on the boring side.

Jazz up your serving platters with some fruit, nuts, crackers and toast, chutney, fruit pastes, and jams to take the visual appeal up a notch. These serve as excellent companion pieces to the rest of the food, providing complementary or contrasting flavors while making your setup more aesthetically appealing.

Fruit

I think just about everyone knows that apple and cheddar is one of the best flavor combinations ever, but there are a myriad of other fruit options out there that pair well with a variety of cheeses.

Some additional fruits you may want to consider are firm pears, grapes, figs, dried apricots, and prunes. You definitely do not want to pick any fruit with a bold flavor, or anything very juicy. This is to make serving simple, and to avoid drowning out the flavors of the more delicate cheese.

The one exception to this is melon.

Ripe cantaloupe or honeydew (or a mixture of the two, because the color combo is GORGEOUS) both taste amazing with prosciutto. If you’re planning to serve it, definitely buy some melon if it is in season, as well as a small melon baller.

Make a bunch of little melon balls and serve them in a separate bowl right beside the prosciutto, so people will know the two go together.

You could even serve them on the same platter, on skewers like a kabob, or with the prosciutto wrapped around the melon balls to make little heavenly bites.

Pears have a mild sweetness that works with just about any cheese, so they’re right up there with apples as far as versatility goes. I especially love a slice of pear with a bit of warmed Brie on a plain cracker. Yum!

Grapes also have a milder flavor, so they pair with most anything, and keeping them on the bunch instead of picking them off to serve looks beautiful on the board next to the other food. What a pretty presentation!

Try snipping the stems to make palm-sized clusters so guests can serve themselves easily.

Figs are a stunning fruit that I think tends to be overlooked in North America. Figs and grapes are a great combo all on their own, but figs and cheese are fantastic together as well.

Fresh or dried (or even made into a paste), I would serve figs with brie or camembert, a sweet gorgonzola (the only blue cheese I will actually eat), or even a sharp cheddar.

They aren’t messy at all, which is nice for finger foods, and their sweetness really cuts through the tanginess of sharp cheese, making it a great palate cleanser. If I had to choose just one, dried apricots are my favorite.

Jams, Spreads, and Other Sweet Trimmings

In addition to fresh or dried fruit, you have so many options to choose from in the preserved category.

If you choose a soft and mild ricotta or mascarpone, both of those go so well with a sweet garnish, like a red berry pudding or warm fruit compote.

For more of a dessert option, you can take a page from my mother’s holiday entertaining book. She likes to serve a brick of room temperature Neufchatel with a blueberry compote on gingersnaps. It is absolutely terrific and one of my favorite Christmas treats.

Honey is also great with brie and other bloomy and soft varieties. Top a cracker spread with mascarpone with a drizzle of honey and a walnut half, and it’s like heaven in your mouth.

Pepper jelly is also tasty with brie or camembert, and would make a great appetizer spread on a cracker. Apricot preserves would be another good choice.

The condiment options are really endless, with fruit-based items like quince paste and various chutneys available. Just experiment and find what tastes good to you.

Nuts

Nuts are another addition that may serve as palate cleansers.

If you take a bite of salty parmesan and then you want to try a bit of brie, the leftover saltiness of the former will overwhelm the mild sweetness of the latter.

But, if you pop an almond in your mouth and eat that between the two, it will help you to be able to really appreciate the flavor of the Brie.

To add a fun activity to the mix, purchase nuts that are still in their shells with a nutcracker and an empty bowl to hold the remains.

Salty and Tangy Bites

Pickles and olives make wonderful savory accompaniments to offer with your other food, with a sharp flavor that cuts through the buttery, unctuous fattiness of the meats and cheeses. The saltiness and tanginess of these two will make a great contrast to your bolder flavor choices.

Cornichons are a popular choice, or try something unexpected as an alternative to the usual cucumber, like pickled carrots, onions, green beans, grapes, or squash. A selection of olives of different sizes, shapes, and colors is always welcome in a cheese and charcuterie spread as well.

Try our recipe for garlic and herb roasted olives for an ideal savory accoutrement.

You don’t want anything herbed or peppery because you don’t need to add a competing flavor in your mouth. I really like serving an assortment of simple crackers like this collection from Carr’s, available on Amazon, with my hard cheeses like Manchego, cheddar, or gouda.

For my soft or creamy options I like to offer a crusty bread or crostini to spread them on. If you, like me, love a good cheese ball, choose a sturdier cracker.

4. Drink Choices Really Make It Special

Now that you have your food situation all figured out, it’s time to talk beverages. Everyone knows that cheese and wine make the perfect pair, but which wines should you serve?

Wine Rules

There are two paths that you could follow here, when you’re trying to find the best wine to serve. First, you can serve wines that complement your edibles, like a bold wine to go with strong-flavored cheeses and meats.

Alternatively, you can choose wines that provide a nice contrast to the food, like serving a light, more acidic wine to cut the sweetness of your brie with preserves, or offering a fruity red to mellow out the sharpness of your cheddar.

Both of these ideas work well, so it’s really just a matter of personal preference. You might want to have a solo tasting party to find out what you like together, or just offer several wine options to your guests.

There are two rules that I like to follow:

1. Pair Mellow with Mild

The first is to pair mellow wine with a mild cheese. I don’t want a strong drink to overpower the taste of the food I’m eating.

2. Stay Regional

My second rule of thumb is to try to serve wine from the same region from whence my cheese originates.

If I have Manchego on my board, I will probably have a rioja in my glass. Likewise, an Italian prosecco’s bubbles will nicely cut through the saltiness of Parmigiano Reggiano.

There are several other combinations that are traditionally served together. If you’re new at pairing wine with food, you can always just stick with the following perennial favorites, and you really can’t go wrong.

Traditional Pairings

Port is a rich, sweet wine, typically served with a dessert course. Its sweetness cuts the tanginess of blue cheese wonderfully, so it makes a nice contrast.

A full-bodied cabernet sauvignon like this one from Naked Wines goes really well with gouda, cheddar, and other strongly-flavored hard cheeses. Neither one overpowers the other, so there’s a nice balance.

If you fall into this category, then you can always just start from the wine and work backwards. Pick out the wines you know you like to drink and then think about their flavor profiles and how they would taste with certain cheeses, using the tips outlined above for guidance.

From there, head to the cheese department at your local market. Here’s where it’s really helpful to choose a high-end market that will be sure to have informed employees who can help you make good matches.

Other Beverage Choices

While wine may be the drink most associated with these types of foods, it is by no means that only refreshment you can serve.

If you’re more a fan of beer than wine, have no fear! Beer goes great with cheese and lots of other foods. Take a look at this article on German beer pairings or this more general post on beer and food pairings for inspiration.

Some of my favorites are stout with aged Irish cheddar, and nutty gouda with my Sam Adams Oktoberfest.

Cocktails are always yummy, too. A dry martini, Manhattan, gin and tonic, or mojitos all go surprisingly well with most types of queso, so don’t be afraid to pull out the liquor.

I would steer clear of the really sweet, fruity cocktails, though. That’s not a flavor that works wells with most of the other tastes you’ll have available.

Sparkling water, plain or flavored with lemon or lime juice, is a good option for non-drinkers. You can also offer apple juice, cut with club soda to minimize the sweetness, as apple goes so well with most anything.

Review our roundup of non-alcoholic beverages for other choices!

Any fruit served should also be washed, sliced, and ready to go. Have mini tongs or forks available to pick up each option.

Offer nuts, pickles, and condiments like chutney or mustard in separate dishes, each with their own little spoon or fork for serving.

If the guests will be getting their own drinks, set up a bar area with all of the beverage choices grouped together with the appropriate glasses for beer or for wine. Set out a stack of plates, a stack of napkins, and you’ll be good to go!