Step 2 – Put together a cured meat & cheese board
In a series of blogs, we’ll take you through the 5 steps that will help you throw a steak barbecue that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
You’ll know you’re hosting a few days ahead of the barbecue, and a bit of time is what you need to create a tasty charcuterie and cheese board. You can arrange most of this ahead of time, and your guests can snack away while others arrive.
Ideally, you want most of these 5 elements:
Cheese – 2 to 3 different textures (soft and hard) and strength (mild or blue) cheeses
Meat – (from Biltong Chief, you can get an array of sliced biltong, wet biltong chunks, chilli bites, droewors and from time to time even some charcuterie)
A Vessel – the grains and loaves that allow the cheese to fly into your mouth
Fruit & Nuts
Pickles & Preserves
In the order of appearance: salchichon (Spanish sausage, fig preserves, brioche toasts, cornichons, walnuts, grapes, havarti and Castello Creamy Blue.) original image from Washington Post
In general you should always be on the lookout for interesting pickles, spreads, preserves, cured meats and cheeses at your local farmer’s market. Keep your eye peeled for that chilli jam or rustic sourdough loaf!
Wet biltong chunks are commonplace entrée items on Steakhouse menus in South Africa and will be terrific to slice up and add to your cheese board. If you want know more about biltong and what it is you can read our blog “What is biltong? Everything you need to know about biltong“
Marks & Spencer and U-select both stock well-priced cheese board platters, however a soft, tear apart burrata or buffalo mozzarella cheese will separate your cheese board from the rest. For high-end produce you can try Feather & Bone and Meat The Sea for quality deli goods.
As we mentioned in Tip #1, don’t be afraid to ask your guests to bring a cheese or some bread along. Everyone loves to contribute!
The best thing about charcuterie & cured meats is that nothing goes to waste. Pop what you haven’t finished in the fridge and you’ve got a supply of high-protein snacks for weeks to come.
