Bacon and Cheddar Charcuterie Board

Would you turn down an appetizer (or dinner) with the name Bacon and Cheddar Charcuterie Board? I wouldn’t. This is similar to a traditional charcuterie board, but bacon doesn’t typically make it as one of the typical cast of characters.

If you’ve never made a charcuterie board before, I’m here to show you. Some people call them meat and cheese boards or snack boards.

What does Charcuterie mean?

Charcuterie is French, and according to Webster it means, “a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes also : the products sold in such a shop.” So, it’s kind of an umbrella term encompassing dishes or boards made up of primarily meats.

Oh, and so you don’t have to guess – it’s pronounced shaar • koo • tr • ee.

Apparently, Charcuterie boards have become a millennial phenomenon, especially among those living in small spaces. I can’t really think of a correlation there. I suppose I guess I can see it far as saving space with additional plates, etc. because everyone can just eat off the board with napkin in hand.

Makes sense.

Ok, so Google “Charcuterie” on Instagram and you’ll get thousands of results. More like a bazillion. I do have to say, they’re so much fun to make. I know it seems as if some of the components are kinda strange to pair with bacon and cheese.

It’s actually not; this is an opportunity to play around with different and maybe new flavors.

Line a celery stick with blackberry preserves and wrap a piece of bacon around it. Try cucumber slices alternating with cheese slices and drizzle with honey. Make a bacon and cheese crostini with a little caviar on top.

Making these is almost like art. You’ll want to be happy with the finished product; you’ll look at it 27 different ways.

You might change it up a bit, making sure it’s perfect. You’ll walk out of the room and walk right back in to see what it would look like to someone else. You’ll take photos of it and send it to your friends or social media the shit out of it. You know you will.

Let’s make this Bacon and Cheddar Charcuterie Board, shall we?

Let’s start with the most important components of this – the bacon and the cheese.

The bacon is from Bill E. Stitt in south Alabama, and it’s phenomenal.

There’s a story behind his bacon, and you can read about it here.

It’s so special, this burger made with it won me a qualification to the World Food Championships 2016 in the burger division. If you haven’t seen this burger, you have to check it out.

The stuff is good, y’all.

It’s not so thin and wimpy that it disappears on your burger, and it’s not so thick that you resemble a cow chewing cud while trying to consume it. You get the idea.

Oh, and the taste. That unmistakable taste.

You can smell and almost damn near taste the smokiness through the packaging, and that will definitely whet your appetite to say the least.

The packaging!

So much fun, and so unlike any other bacon packaging I’ve ever seen. I swear I’m not trying to be dramatic.

The packaging is frame-worthy, their salt is pink and their pigs aren’t orphans.

As far as cheese – I know y’all are probably already familiar with Cabot; they’ve been a favorite of mine for a long time. I’ve always had a special affinity for their Farmhouse Reserve, which was first on the board, along with slices of their Cracked Peppercorn, Spicy Habanero, Pepperjack, Extra Sharp and Vermont Sharp.

I included both slices and their Snack Sticks. I love the Snack Sticks for making Stuffed Crust Pizza, taking on road trips (which I hate with a passion) and snacking on with Fritos while I’m working (like right now).

One of my favorite recipes to make with their cheese is Homemade Cheddar Crackers.

Charcuterie Board Varieties

Keto Board – Replace the bread with low carb crackers.
Atkins Board – Replace bread and crackers with Atkins friendly crackers.
Rillettes and Mousse Board – Similar to pate, Rillettes is a French style charcuterie similar to pate, but the texture is more coarse, and mousse is a mixture of meat and liver that has a creamy texture.

My Bacon and Cheddar Charcuterie Board is perfect for football parties, baby showers, dinner parties, but my favorite is making it for an at-home date night with a bottle of wine.