Halloween Charcuterie Platter Board

I'm sharing all my tricks to make the perfect treat for your Halloween entertaining! A Halloween Char-Spook-erie Board is great twist on a classic charcuterie with fun ghoulish twists to make this an impressive platter for a party! As fun and decorative as it is delicious; filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, chutneys, crackers and more fright night surprises.

Charcuterie & Platter Boards

When I'm entertaining my first thought is always the food! A beautifully presented platter board, filled with an array of flavours and items is a fantastic idea for guests to graze on throughout the evening, as a sharing starter or for smaller gatherings as a focal point around other activities.

As a host it's a great idea as it looks extremely impressive, but once served you don't need to be worried about timings of things cooking, worry about keeping anything warm or if you've plated up enough for everyone in their own preferences. You can simple allow guests to enjoy your creation and enjoy the evening with them!

Charcuterie is the culinary art of preparing meats, such as bacon, salami, ham, terrines, pates and was traditional in the ages when cured meats were the only way of preserving them for longevity. As popularity has grown recently they have typically combines meats and cheeses with plenty of accompaniments as part of the huge grazing board moment we are having!

What cheeses and meats to include?

One of the fantastic things about a Charcuterie platter is that you really can make it using whatever you want! There are no rules, so feel free to include items that you or your guests love or something really on theme to make the board special. Every time I arrange one it's full of a different variety of items and looks completely different. It's uniqueness is part of the fun and what makes it perfect for a themed celebration.

For cheese, you want to add 3-4 cheeses that vary in texture and flavour profiles to ensure your guests find something they like.

• A hard/firm cheese is often the most popular so I always include a cheddar and sometimes a second option, in this case I also added a chilli cheddar for that spicy hit!
• A soft cheese is another popular choice, this could be goat's cheese, brie, mozzarella, camembert or cheese balls even! I went for a camembert that I made into an eerie 'bleeding' coffin!
• A blue cheese may not be to all guests tastes, but I do think it should be included (especially if catering to larger crowd). Plus the blue veiny patterns are very Halloween themed!

When selecting your meat consider the cheeses you are serving for some great pairings. I like to use the mixed deli meat packets so that you have a good range. They look fab folded into blooms and the placed upright alongside something taller (like cheese). For this platter I used chorizo, Italian salami and some shredded prosciutto as I had other meaty themed items as well!

What else should be on the perfect platter?

Once you've ticked off your core plate of meats and cheeses you want to think of some accompaniments to add textures, colours, freshness and also a means of eating some items. You'll definitely need:

• Bread/crackers - required to layer up some meat, cheese and chutney on for the perfect bite! I added sourdough slices and a couple of types of crackers.
• Chutneys/Jams - the quintessential accompaniment to cheese & crackers. I like to serve a chutney, like this tomato chilli chutney on the camembert, and a sweeter jam option, like a fig preserve to give a balanced option.
• Fruit & Nuts- Both fresh and dried fruits are great items to include. Grapes and blackberries add Halloween darkness in colour and sharpness in flavour. Dried apricots and some nuts are also ideal, walnuts look like brains remember!
• Deli items - Pickled onions, gherkins and olives all make wonderful additions. The pickled items give a burst of something to cut through all the cheese and meats.

How to Make your Halloween Charcuterie Board

Assembling your charcuterie board takes a little organisation but it's well worth it for the end result. Start by finding the platter board you want to use and add a couple of dishes for things like your chutneys or pickled onions etc spaced apart. I find it easiest to then start with your centrepiece and cheeses. I added worked out where the Jack O'Lantern would go (fresh out the oven later!) and then placed my wedges of hard cheese, and shaped whole soft cheeses. My meats go in next, folded or sliced, in convenient areas and for pops of colour! Next I add in the bread/crackers in easy to reach areas - they create great borders for holding meats and other fruit items in place. Add in your fruit, nuts and deli items and the finally your decorative elements!

The best way to make the board really pop for Halloween is adding those little spooky touches. An easy addition is a couple of munchkin pumpkins, if you are able to hollow them out they can be a great 'dish' for chutneys. As I'd featured pumpkins and bats as a background table centrepiece I choose to add some other items instead.

Using up leftovers from some Halloween baking I hide leftover spiderweb wafers and candy eyeballs for that eerie feel - the chutney is watching you!!! If you use any plastic spiders or other props, be sure to give them a good clean as they are often not food grade materials. A fake spiderweb netting would be a great backdrop under your board as well.

Small tweaks to classic components of your can make a big impact. I chose to cut my camembert cheese into a coffin shape, top with chutney that was 'stabbed' in with a knife - just like your favourite slasher film! I was also thrilled to pick up some Halloween themed items that were absolutely perfect and took the burden of me making them from the supermarket. The Skeleton bao buns were cute & tasty, and the Jack O'Lantern pastry encased burger was a great centrepiece to the board!

How much food do you need?

The million dollar question! It's something I always find hard to judge, as I love to have a huge array of variety and never want anyone to go hungry! Firstly, I'd say know your guests and what the charcuterie board is being served for (appetiser, nibbles, the main event!). As a rule of thumb for an appetiser estimate 100g of meat/cheese per person and for a meal increase to 200-300g per person. Allow plenty of bread/crackers, and enough chutneys and other pieces of fruit etc to allow everyone to have a couple of each. Thankfully most charcuterie board ingredients are great leftovers so if you do have a bit too much you can use for lunch the next day, so don't break the bank but it's best to have a bit too much than not enough!

Cocktail tricks & treats!

Don't forget to add to your evening's spooky glamour by serving up the perfect Halloween cocktail options as well! To learn how to make these devilish drinks here!

Did you try making a Halloween Charcuterie Board?

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