New Year’s Eve Charcuterie Board Inspiration
The wonderful thing about charcuterie boards (also known as grazing boards) is that whether you’re hosting the whole neighbourhood, or having a quiet evening in, you can tailor your charcuterie board to suit. Let us inspire you with our top tips and inspiration for your New Year’s Eve charcuterie board.
The key to creating a beautiful New Year’s Eve charcuterie board is to focus on colour, texture, and layout. However, your as pretty as your board may be, you also need to consider flavour if you want it to be a real success. Delight the senses with a mix of smoky, spicy, sharp and sweet.
Step one: Choose your board
Whilst many may pick a wooden charcuterie board, you can use a tray, a large plate, or even a chopping board. Remember, the items you place on your board will create the wow-factor, the board itself is just a blank canvas. The main thing is that it is sturdy and big enough to fit all of your chosen charcuterie items. Having an easy to clean surface or being dishwasher safe is also a plus for the clean up afterwards.
Step two: Select your smoked salmon, cured meats, and cheeses
Although cured meat is traditional, smoked salmon makes a fantastic addition to any charcuterie board. You can be creative with your placement, for example shaping the slices into roses. For something a bit special, try our gravadlax-style smoked salmon recipe.
Cheese is also a charcuterie board favourite. A good selection of cheeses will add varying textures and flavours to your board.
Step three: Add crunch
Add some crunch to your board with crackers and nuts. Having a range of different shapes and sizes of crackers will make your board more visually interesting. Walnuts, cashews, and pistachios are all great for charcuterie boards. For a nut-free option which keeps the crunch, swap for roasted chickpeas.
Step four: Accompaniments
Fresh and dried fruit, chopped fresh vegetables, picked gherkins, olives, and dips such as cream cheese or hummus all make excellent additions to any charcuterie board. Vary your selections to compliment the other items on the board. For example if you have smoked salmon and a smoky cheese on your board, pair with crisp fruit flavours to cut through and refresh the palate. If you’re using spicy cheeses or chilli-flavoured crackers then accompany with a cooling dip.
Dried fruit can add colour, flavour, and texture in one go. It can be bought well ahead and stored in the cupboard or pantry until required.
Dips don’t need to be dull – our smoked salmon, lemon and dill dip is a taste sensation.
Now it’s time to assemble your board!
Step five: Assembly
Creating a beautiful charcuterie boards is as much about the placement of your chosen items as it is the flavour and texture. You may choose to section your board by colour or taste profile. The main idea is to have everything sliced into bite-sized portions for easy snacking. Once you’ve arranged to your satisfaction, you may wish to add some finishing touches such as fresh herbs.
Charcuterie board inspiration:
Simple grazing board with smoked salmon, salami, red and green grapes, mixed nuts, wholemeal crackers, cream cheese dip, brie, and sharp cheddar.
Winter berries charcuterie board featuring smoked salmon, smoked cheese, salami, blackberries, raspberries, carrot sticks, walnuts, and crackers. Served with a cream cheese dip, humous, and caviar.
Grazing platter with smoked salmon slices, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, almonds, and a lemon mayonnaise dip. Served with flaked hot smoked salmon, green and black olives, bagels and wholemeal crackers.
Tangy charcuterie plate with smoked salmon slices, flaked hot smoked salmon, black olives, cucumber, avocado, grapefruit, radish, cherry tomatoes and almonds.
Brunch board for New Year’s Day with smoked salmon slices, hard boiled eggs, hash browns, capers, mini cucumbers, sliced bagels and cherry tomatoes.
