Learn how to make an Epic Charcuterie Board for impressive yet easy entertaining. This Winter Charcuterie Board is filled with meats, cheeses, veggies, nuts, olives, dried fruits, crackers, and more. An easy appetizer perfect for happy hour entertaining.
A Winter Charcuterie Board for easy entertaining!
Hi everyone, I’m here to tell you that your appetizer board need not be a barren wasteland just because it’s winter! Looking for the perfect appetizer tray that will bring you right through the winter season? Consider this Winter Charcuterie Board! It has fresh flavors in the fresh fruit that’s readily available during the winter months in the US, dried fruit, nuts, bread, crackers, and cheeses. The star of this epic Charcuterie board, of course, is your favorite cured meats, in this case prosciutto and an Italian dry salami.
I love how the grocery store gets flooded with citrus of all varieties during the winter. Just choose whatever looks the most fresh and delicious.
Helpful Kitchen Tools:
- large board
- small plates and bowls
- large sheet of parchment
- cheese knives
- cutting board
- honey stick
- spoon
- chef’s knife
- toothpicks
Charcuterie boards are very customizable!
If certain items are not available, just swap out with similar items. I find the produce section of the grocery store and the dried fruit and nut area to be very helpful for finding food items to populate a charcuterie board.
Check out the bakery to find bread items for putting cheese on and swing by the cracker aisle for picking up your favorite crackers.
Don’t forget the cheese!
Don’t forget checking out everything in the deli and cheese area. There might be a certain cheese that looks good that you are drawn to. Don’t be afraid to customize to your tastes. My rule of thumb is choose a soft, medium, and more aged cheese. At the minimum choose two different cheeses, for example, one soft and one aged (hard) cheese for contrast.
Make sure to cut up any cheese or fruit ahead of time so that people can just graze and pick up their food easily without hovering while slicing, etc.
Candied Pecans are easy to find in the nut aisle or near the bulk nuts section, depending on your store.
It’s a nice touch to leave some of the fruit whole to provide some visual interest.
Sugared Cranberries give this easy appetizer a festive and elegant look.
Asian pear is so crisp and juicy. You can substitute the Asian pear for apple or another variety of pear, if you wish.
Include different flavor profiles!
You can wrap some of the dates in prosciutto, this gives a nice salty-sweet flavor. And set out some marinated olives for another flavor profile your guests will love!
Simple garnishes make this appetizer extra special!
You can garnish with star anise (see above) or cinnamon sticks or rosemary twigs. It just adds some festive flair and aromatics to your board.
How would you customize this Winter Charcuterie Board?
Ingredients
- tangerines (or clementines, oranges, or other favorite citrus)
- Asian pear slices (1 pear, or other type of pear or apple)
- pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate)
- 5-6 figs, sliced and quartered
- drizzle of wildflower honey (for the figs)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup sugared cranberries
- bunches of red globe grapes (or your favorite/available variety)
- 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
- 1 cup olive medley
- 1 cup candied pecans
- Swiss
- Camembert (or Brie or other soft cheese)
- Stilton (or blue cheese)
- table water crackers, amount to taste
- Triscuit-style crackers, amount to taste
- bread slices (sourdough ), amount to taste
- star anise
- cinnamon sticks
- rosemary sprigs
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup granulated white sugar and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring with a small whisk. Turn off heat and pour in 1 cup fresh cranberries, stir to coat and then spread out on a wire rack, allow to cool for 1 hour or until tacky. Coat in 1 cup or more granulated white sugar, until coated evenly.
- On a clean board, place a piece of parchment paper. It helps to crumple up the paper and then smooth out over the board surface. This makes the parchment more likely to stay in place.
- Arrange the cheeses first, then the meats, fruit, and fill in with the crackers and sliced bread.
- Have cheese knives on hand, as necessary. Enjoy as a appetizer at any gathering!
Notes
Home Chef Tip: Use parchment paper on top of the tray or board, but underneath the food on the board so that it's easy to clean up! It helps to crumple up the paper and then smooth out over the board surface. This makes the parchment more likely to stay in place.
We hope you enjoy this Winter Charcuterie Board from SoFabFood Home Chef, Sara from Life’s Little Sweets, as much as we do. If you love this recipe, you can find more like it by visiting our Appetizer Section. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
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