Charcuterie Board

I’m going to show you how to make a posh Charcuterie board for only €20! Going to Dunnes, I was not expecting to find all this for under €20.

Price Breakdown

Price breakdown: Jacob’s crackers: €1.99 (on sale for €1.50) Grader’s Choice Cheddar: €3.00 (got this one for free) Sheep’s Cheese: €3.50 Wicklow Blue: €3.50 Brie Wedge: €1.09 Pate €1.50 Salami: €1.00 Baguettes 2’s: €1.00 (I only used one though so counting it as €0.50), Cherry Tomatoes: €0.79 Apples (5 for €1): €0.20            

TOTAL: €13.58

What to Choose: Cheese

For any cheese board, it is important to have a hard cheese, a soft cheese, a blue (or a nontraditional) cheese. Depending on how large the party is depends on how many cheeses one should purchase. I went with four cheeses because of the deal going on at Dunnes when I went: three cheese for the price of two—what a steal. I always like to have a brie on a cheese board because most people like brie as it is a mild, creamy cheese. For the hard cheese, I choose a cheddar. It’s okay to put a basic cheese like cheddar on a cheese board because its inexpensive, but can also be dressed up, and again—it’s a cult classic, most people enjoy cheddar cheese. Because of the deal at Dunnes, I bought two special cheeses: Wicklow Blue Brie and a Castellano Sheep’s Cheese. I originally was just going to go with the Brie, Wicklow Blue, and Cheddar, but for that deal, I had to get a fourth.  

What to Choose: Meat

Secondly, it is nice to have meat, or something other than cheese on the board. I went with meat because I found some mad deals on Pate and Salami, but one can also go with nuts or grapes. I found Dunnes’ Brussels Pate for just €1.50 and a pack of German Salami for €1. I went with the sliced salami because it was less expensive than purchasing a full dried sausage. I ideally wanted to find prosciutto, but that was €2.49, so I chose to have two other meats for that price.

What to Choose: Breads, Crackers, and Misc.

It’s nice to have two different options of what to put the cheese or meat onto when serving. I went with a Dunnes Bake at Home White Baguette and Jacob’s Cream Crackers. At Dunnes, I found a whole bunch of options for ‘bake at home’ rolls. I thought this would be a great option because when guests arrive, they will smell freshly baked bread and it makes you look like you went the extra step even though you just popped some ready-to-bake bread in the oven. I only used on of these baguettes because I didn’t think I would need both on top of the crackers.

I got tomatoes because it’s always nice to have some color on your board and I added the apple last minute because I wanted it to look more full.

Arranging the Board:

When arranging the cheese board, I like to arrange the products (still in their package) before unwrapping them and putting it all together. I had to use a cutting board because it is all I have, but any platter would work. Then, once I’m happy with the layout, I put it all together, with the tomatoes, sliced salami, freshly baked bread and crackers. It is nice to spread out the tomatoes and apples within the cheese and meats. I found that it also helps to cut some of the cheese up, that way people don’t feel shy about grabbing a slice! Now that it’s all put together, time to dig in and enjoy! Your guests won’t believe how inexpensive this posh spread cost!

Sharlene & Adeline x