I love a good charcuterie board, and salami is one of my favorite meats to include when making one! I'm showing you how to fold salami for charcuterie boards so your board looks stunning and professionally done.
If you know me, you know I love a charcuterie board.
They're great apps, snacks, or honestly, meals. They are the best way to get a little bit of everything! I love making them any chance I can.
You can have so much fun making them. Charcuterie boards give you the perfect excuse to play with seasonal specialty cheeses and in-season produce. You never have to make the same board twice.
How to fold salami for charcuterie boards
Folding salami for a cheese board may seem complicated, but trust me, it isn't! It is a great way to add some character and pizazz to your charcuterie board.
Salami Meat River
Here is a salami river tutorial
- Take your piece of salami and fold it in half so you have a half circle.
- Fold your half circle in half and pinch the bottom corner.
- Keep your folded salami in your hand and continue to repeat the process with the rest of your salami slices.
- You'll eventually be holding a stack of salami in your one hand, and this is the river!
- You can make the river as small or as long as you want.
Tip: you want to be sure to press the corners of the slices of salami together so they don't come undone!
Salami Roses
Who knew salami could turn into a beautiful rose? This is especially a great way to fold salami if you are making a Valentine's Day charcuterie board. Who wouldn't love meat flowers?
- Using a glass with a small to medium-sized rim, I like using a wine glass, take your slice of salami and fold it over the rim of the glass. You'll want to have about a third of the salami slice folded on the inside of the glass. Be sure to pinch it so it stays in place.
- Take another slice, and overlap it about halfway with the folded piece. Fold that piece over the rim of the wine glass. Repeat until the rim is covered, and then you have your first layer.
- Continue to overlap, fold, and pinch your pieces of salami until you can't add any more layers. You should have about 4-6 layers.
- Flip the glass upside down, and carefully lift the glass while keeping the salami in place. Now you have a beautiful salami rose!
Salami Fan
This is such an easy way to display salami on your charcuterie board. Some people call it a salami taco fold, I like to call it a fan!
- Take your salami, and fold it in half so you have a half circle.
- Continue to fold 3-5 pieces of your salami and pinch them together at the bottom, creating a fan.
- Repeat and place around your charcuterie board.
Tip: similar to the salami river, you'll want to be sure you really pinch the ends of the salami pieces together to ensure they stay!
What is a charcuterie board?
A charcuterie board is a collection of cured meats and cheeses. It's accompanied by crackers, fruits, vegetables, olives, dips, spreads and so on.
They've gained massive popularity in recent years, and you can often see spin-offs like brunch boards, grocery store-specific boards (like this ALDI charcuterie board), or this Mediterranean board.
Types of meat for charcuterie board
To make a perfect charcuterie board, you need meat it is arguably the most important elements of a charcuterie board! Here are the best meats for a charcuterie board, in my opinion.
- Genoa Salami: this is probably the salami you are used to buying for charcuterie boards.
- Soprassata: this is another type of salami that has a bit more spice with black pepper and Calabrian red pepper flakes.
- Pepperoni: pepperoni, a beloved pizza topping, can also be used on charcuterie boards.
- Peppered Salami: I love a black pepper-crusted salami, it's so delicious and a perfect addition to a cheese plate.
- Proscuitto: this dry-aged ham and very popular on charcuterie boards! These can easily be folded into smaller flowers by folding ⅓ of the proscuitto slice (length-wise) and rolling it into a rose shape. Now you have a beautiful flower for a gorgeous charcuterie board. You can also make prosciutto ribbons by folding the proscuitto back and forth like an accordion and pinching one end to make a little ribbon.
- Serrano Ham: serrano ham may look like proscuitto, but it is aged longer so it has a saltier taste and a higher price tag.
Best cheeses for a charcuterie board
You, of course, need different cheeses for your charcuterie board. Here are some of my favorite cheeses to include on your next charcuterie board.
Soft Cheeses
- Goat Cheese
- Brie Cheese
- Feta
- Burrata
Semi-Soft Cheeses
- Blue Cheese
- Fontina
- Manchego
- Gouda
- Havarti
Hard Cheeses
- Cheddar
- Parmesan
- Asiago
What else should be on a charcuterie board?
When you're making a charcuterie board, you want to be sure to include different textures, here are some ideas on how to fill the rest of the space!
- Fresh Fruit
- Fresh Veggies
- Olives
- Pickles
- Nuts
- Dried Fruit
- Crackers
- Dips/Spreads
Tips on styling your charcuterie board
So, you have all these ingredients to put together a beautiful charcuterie board, but the most important thing is knowing how to put it all together! There are so many different ways people put together charcuterie boards, but here are some of my tips to help you.
- Start with the cheese. Arrange them in the corners of the board + be sure to slice them so people are more enticed to pick up a piece when they first start diving in.
- Place your meats down. Using some of the techniques from above, arrange your meats and place them throughout the board. If you made any meat roses, those would be a great focal point to your board, so you might want to place that more towards the center.
- Place down your bowls. By this, I mean placing anything that needs to be held in a bowl or small ramekin such as olives, dips, or spreads.
- Color with fresh produce. Add your fresh produce to the board, this will add a vibrant color that will really make your board pop.
- Fill in the gaps. Between crackers, nuts, and/or dried fruits, start filling in any gaps.
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