Put together this simple grilled charcuterie board for your next backyard barbecue! This grilling board holds hamburgers and hot dogs and fixings for easy serving at dinner. Plus, get our picks for affordable wood charcuterie boards and dishes.
You’ll also want to add some juicy grilled pineapple and easy garlic shrimp skewers — then finish off the meal with one of these delicious grilled desserts.
If you’re looking to make your classic American BBQ foods look Instagram-worthy for a get together or dinner party, then charcuterie is the way to go!
Inviting friends to the BBQ? Use our free printable barbecue invitations and printable patriotic party pack with editable invitations, decor, favors, and more.
What is a charcuterie board?
Charcuterie (pronounciation: “shaar·koo·tr·ee”) comes from the French word for butcher (charcutier, meaning pork butcher specifically).
A charcuterie board (also called a charcuterie plates or charcuterie platter) is a traditional European offering for a simple breakfast, brunch, or lunch, or as a starter for a larger meal.
Charcuterie platters traditionally feature several types of sliced cheese and cured meat, plus sliced bread (such as baguette or ciabatta), crackers, fruit (fresh or dried), and assorted other savory foods like jam/jelly, olives, pickles, nuts, or sliced vegetables.
These foods are grouped (in aesthetically pleasing groups, including smaller bowls, plates, ramekins, etc.) on a large wood board or plate in small portions to allow for a small group to gather and eat from the communal platter.
As a friend described it to me: it’s a grown-up lunchable. ?
The charcuterie board trend in the United States has spawned all sorts of different non-traditional varieties, including dessert charcuterie boards and charcuterie trays featuring cooked foods such as falafel, tacos, and kebabs.
So here’s our take: a grilling charcuterie board that’s perfect for loading up on your favorite classic American BBQ foods!
How to Make a Grilled Charcuterie Board for Your Next BBQ
A grilled charcuterie board like this makes it easy to serve your family and friends at the BBQ — just one tray has all the essentials for 6-8 people! No more running in and out of the house with this plate and that dish, and -bonus- fewer serving dishes to wash later.
1: Select a Charcuterie Tray and Accessories
Since the point of the charcuterie board is to make all the BBQ fixings look so beautiful, you want to start with a beautiful tray!
For charcuterie, we recommend a large tray, at least 18-20″ diameter or square, with handles and a slight lip or curve at the edge. This keeps things from sliding off as you move the tray and as people serve themselves.
Charcuterie boards are traditionally made from wood, so you can flex your DIY muscle and build your own tray if you want!
For outside grilling, a wood tray will work, or ceramic, metal, or melamine are good cost-effective alternatives to a wood charcuterie board.
To organize the charcuterie board food, you’ll also want some smaller plates and dishes, such as ceramic ramekins, dipping bowls, and saucers.
Remember, the point is to let the food shine, so classic white or glass dishes are a great option!
What to put on a charcuterie tray? Anything you want!
For our traditional American BBQ grilled charcuterie board, we used:
3: Start Assembling Your Grilled Charcuterie Board
For quick assembling so you can eat as soon as the food is cooked, precut and portion all the ingredients. For items like pickles and tomatoes that are juicy and may spread their flavors, use a small plate or tray.
While the hamburgers and hot dogs are on the grill, start assembling your tray.
You’ll start with the largest grilled charcuterie board ingredients and then fill in the gaps with the smaller items. Shuffle things around as needed to fit.
Add the bowls with condiments, and plates with pickles.
Next add the larger items like watermelon or lettuce, and leave a spot for the burgers and hot dogs. (We added them here to show, but recommend adding them last, to serve while hot.)
Now for medium size items, like bacon and cheese slices. Pre-sliced cheese with the papers left in between slices makes it easy to add to your burger!
Then add sliced onions, tomatoes, and other burger fixings.
Fill in holes with the smallest items like chips, cookies, berries, and candy.
Place the buns on a tray or cake plate and you’re ready to eat!
serve your burgers with these
- Hamburgers
- Hot Dogs
- Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns
- Condiments – ketchup mustard, mayonnaise, and relish – or other condiments you like
- Cheese – we used american and swiss
- Pickles
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Red Onion or white if you like
- Bacon cooked
- Extras – chips watermelon, blackberries, cookies and candy – anything you want to add will work fine
This content was originally published here.