Everything you need to know about making a French Charcuterie Board. Whether it is for date night, a sit down dinner party, a potluck or an apéro dinatoire (also known as a cocktail dinatoire or heavy cocktail), here are some simple tips to making a perfect charcuterie board.
The French call it a "planche de charcuterie" while the Italians refer to it as an antipasto platter.
What is a Cocktail Dînatoire
Looking for an easy, but chic, way to host friends at home without lots of cooking? A cocktail dînatoire, also known as an apéro dînatoire, brings guests together over food and drink in a more casual setting than a dinner party. There is no assigned seating and you can help yourself to as much (or as little) as you want. A cocktail dinatoire is family friendly too. This blog post will walk you through how to host a cocktail dinatoire, step by step.
What is Charcuterie?
Charcuterie is a French word that refers to any smoked, dry-cured, or cooked types of meat. French cold cuts, if you will. Examples include:
- Jambon de Bayonne (Prosciutto is great if you can't find jambon de bayonne)
- Saucisson sec (can be made of pork, boar, duck)
- Pork rillettes
- Pâté de campagne
- Foie gras
- Smoked duck breast
- Jambon de Paris (boiled ham, famously known as the key component in a jambon beurre baguette sandwich)
- Jambon fumé (smoked ham)
- Jambon sec
- Boudin Blanc
- Boudin Noir
- Chicken livers (not my favorite, but my husband loves them!)
- Dry cured salami
- Pork belly
There are many Italian and Spanish types of Charcuterie that are great additions to your board:
- Prosciutto
- Parma Ham
- Mangalica
- Mortadelle (speckled with pistachios from Bologna - the original Baloney and one of my absolute favorites - if you haven't tried Mortadelle, I highly recommend that you do!)
- Chorizo
- Salami
- Genoa sausage
The list is endless!
Charcuterie is best served at room temperature so make sure to take the charcuterie out of the fridge at least an hour before serving.
The different regions of France all produce their own types of charcuterie, very much like they all produce their own kinds of cheese (and wine!). The South West of France is known for duck (foie gras, magret et al) while the Burgundy region is known for its pork saucisson or rillettes.
Where to buy charcuterie?
Most grocery stores have a charcuterie selection that you can choose from. However, when possible, I prefer to order online (I highly recommend D'artagnan's selection) or else visit a specialty store for the best quality. Like everything in French cooking, always choose quality over quantity.
How to serve charcuterie
You can choose to serve each guest their own charcuterie board, however, I think the act of sharing a generous dish amongst friends increases the enjoyment. A large charcuterie platter, beautifully displayed on a wooden board has a much more impressive effect.
Take a large platter or a wood board and arrange your charcuterie on the board. While the pinterest famous charcuterie boards feature elaborate folding techniques that cover every inch of the board, this is not how it is served in France. Choose a small selection of high quality charcuterie position each one on the board for easy access, leaving empty spaces between the meats.
I recommend slicing only half of each piece of charcuterie to allow guests to see the original shape of the meat as well.
For 6 people I would choose 3-4 types of charcuterie, one type of jam, one dried fruit, one fresh fruit, 2 types of bread and then some whole grain mustard as well as tangy cornichons. Et Voilà!
Types of Bread to serve with a traditional French Charcuterie board
- French baguette
- sourdough bread, sliced
- Gressins (or thin bread sticks) Great for serving with jambon de bayonne or prosciutto)
- thin crackers
Types of preserves to serve with a French Charcuterie Board
- Fig jam
- Cherry preserves
- Prune jam
- Apple compote
- Honeycomb makes for a beautiful charcuterie display
Dried fruits
- Prunes
- Dried apricots
- Dry figs
Nuts
- Almonds (Marcona almonds are my favorite)
- Walnuts
- Hazelnuts
Fresh fruits
- Apple slices
- Pears
- Fresh figs
- Grapes
Mustard and small cornichons or pickled onions are also wonderful accompaniments to charcuterie.
Wine pairings with charcuterie
What are the best wines to serve with charcuterie?
Red Wine
Red wine is traditionally served with Charcuterie. You need a hearty wine to stand up to the strong flavors of the different meats. A robust Pinot Noir, such as a Burgundy or else a rich Grenache, such as a Chateau Neuf du Pape or a Syrah (such as Cote Roti) go wonderfully with charcuterie.
White Wine
Sauvignon Blanc, such as a Sancerre or a Pouilly Fumé pair nicely for white wine lovers.
A dry Riesling from Alsace is a natural accompaniment to Charcuterie
I also love champagne with charcuterie - the acidity in Champagne pairs beautifully with the rich charcuterie
Do you serve cheese and charcuterie together?
While it is customary in the US to serve cheese with charcuterie, French people rarely do this. French tradition is to serve Charcuterie as a starter, Cheese is served as its own course, after the main course and before dessert.
Classic French Charcuterie cheeses would be a hard cheese such as a Comté or a beaufort that can stand up to the flavors of the meat.
The exception is when you are hosting a cocktail dinatoire, you will serve them both, but never on the same dish. I wrote an entire article on how to make a French Cheese board that goes into much more detail.
Other French Cuisine Dishes to serve with charcuterie:
Cheese Fondue (Fondue Suisse or Fondue Savoyarde)
Potage aux Légumes (a perfect dinner - charcuterie, a nourishing vegetable soup, some French baguette and your favorite type of cheese to finish ( For soft cheese I love a creamy brie or goat cheese, for hard cheeses Comté or Gruyere is amazing)
Let me know if this post has helped you - I love to hear from you!
Bon appétit,
Le Chef's Wife
ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE
Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (5 and 2) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.
Look inside our Kitchen with this recent Washington Post Article. We were recently featured on the TODAY SHOW for our recipes of French Onion Soup Gratinée and Moelleux au Chocolat. You can watch our full segment here:
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Maureen says
Thank you so very much for your recent IG post on hosting a French dinner party. We have a dinner party at our home next weekend, and there were so many "take-aways" from your post. I always make too many elaborate things from scratch - from apps to dessert and everything in-between. I'm totally stressed trying to finish everything on
time, and I'm learning from you and Ina Garten to keep it more simple, and buy some of the food items so I can enjoy my guests. I'm a work in progress and hope to be an example of how to teach an old dog new tricks! I love your posts on IG, and save every single recipe you post! Best wishes for continued success!!! Merci beaucoup!!! xxx