The 3-3-3-3 Rule for Charcuterie Boards | Brattleboro Food Co-op (2024)

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The 3-3-3-3 Rule for Charcuterie Boards | Brattleboro Food Co-op? ›

Shoot for the rule of threes: three cheeses, three meats, and three crackers, then fill in any negative space with your accoutrements and flair. This should help achieve the desired abundance and balance that we imagine when we think of the perfect charcuterie board. Above all else: have fun with it!

Creating Interest with the 3-3-3-3 Rule

Choose three cheeses, three meats, three starches, and three accompaniments for a perfect and balanced board, every time!

No matter the style of the wood charcuterie board, you can always follow the 3-3-3-3 rule. Every charcuterie board should have three meats, three cheeses, three starch options, and three accompaniments, such as fruit, nuts, or veggies.

Here's some of the best cheese for charcuterie boards: Hard cheese: chunks of parmesan, aged gouda, asiago. Firm cheese: gruyere, comte, manchego, colby, cheddar. Semi-soft cheese: havarti, butterkäse, muenster.

Start by adding structure with little dishes, then place your ingredients on the board starting with the largest elements like the cheeses and meats, followed by smaller items like crackers and fresh produce.

Charcuterie is divided into three types: forcemeats, sausages and salumi, an Italian word for “salted meats,” which includes preserved whole cuts of meat. Forcemeats are spreadable mixtures of meat and offal (organ meats) like rillettes, pâtés and terrines.

Rule of thumb: 1 small salami, 1 large salami, 1 whole-muscle meat. "When choosing meats and cheeses, variety is the spice of life," Sam advises. You could focus on the meats of one region (Italy, France, Spain, or domestic) or create a spread of your favorites. Try new things, take risks, and offer contrasts.

Cheese is usually sliced much thicker than meat, both by the store and by your guests, so you'll need a little more than the meat. So pick one cheese from each category, but don't sweat if you want fewer than four cheeses. Even if you only choose two, that just leaves more room for bread, grapes and other extras.

How much food per person for a charcuterie board? ›

Plan for about 1-2 ounces of meat per person. At the deli counter, ask for your meat selections to be sliced thin (at a 1-2 thickness) so they're easy to layer.

After all that meat and cheese, you're going to need something to balance those rich flavors. Cairo suggests accenting the board with acidic pickles, crunchy nuts, whole grain mustard (Maille is his favorite brand), tinned fish, and something sweet like quince jam or a drizzle of honey.

What should you not put on a charcuterie board? You'll want to avoid overly juicy fruits whose juices will run across the board and turn your crackers and bread soggy. Skip fruits like watermelon, pineapple, and tomatoes and stick with grapes, berries, and apples or dried fruits.

Many ingredients used in charcuterie boards are high in sodium, including deli meats, dry sausages, cheeses, salted nuts, pretzels and crackers. The recommendation for daily sodium intake for adults is 2,300 milligrams or less. To reduce the sodium load on your board, add more fresh or dried fruits and raw veggies.