New Years Eve Charcuterie!

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Happy New Year my friends! Do you have any special New Years Eve traditions that you look forward to every year? We have a fun one in our family and I always get so excited for it!

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Every year my daughter and son in law host a Charcuterie party at their house for a group of friends and family and the assignment is always “bring a charcuterie board of your choosing”! So I thought I would share with you some of the amazing charcuterie boards that are put together each year. But first… let’s talk about this crazy word.

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char·cu·te·rie

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What actually IS it? The definition is simply “a collection of cold cut meats”. It’s a French word that basically means a way that the French preserve meat! But we Americans have broadened it to include (in addition to assorted meats) a variety of cheeses, nuts, fruits, vegetables, breads, crackers, and even sauces served on a large board. Now we seem to have taken it to a whole new level and if you go to Pinterest and search “charcuterie board ideas” get ready to go down the rabbit hole!!!

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So, you can begin to imagine that if you attend a New Years Eve Charcuterie Potluck… you are going to find all kinds of really awesome ideas! Charcuterie Boards are kind of like “grazing boards”! You can just eat off of them for hours; which makes it really fun for a night like New Years Eve!

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I tend to do something with Brisket each year. Since we always raise our own beef, Brisket is something that I already have that is especially great for a crowd of people. In the past I’ve done a board with Brisket and Baked Potatoes and the next year Brisket Nachos. This year I am putting together a board for Brisket Sliders. What I really love about Brisket is that it can be cooked ahead of time, held over in the refrigerator a day or two or frozen a week ahead of time. It has to be cooked at a low temperature for hours and hours in order for it to be tender and perfect! So you can’t do a Brisket board in a last minute hurry! Brisket actually tastes better a couple days after it is cooked; so it really is perfect for a do-ahead meal.

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My Brisket Slider board this year will have the following arranged on the board:

• Brisket, baked (or smoked) and sliced
• Homemade Biscuits (you can read my blogpost here where I share my recipe)
• Dill Pickle slices
• Sweet Pickled Jalepeno slices
• Coleslaw
• Cheese slices
• Bar-b-que Sauce and White Sauce

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And because you’ve got to have hot chocolate at a late night party, I like to put together a Hot Cocoa Charcuterie too! I have two favorite things that I love putting on my Hot Cocoa board they are Homemade Marshmallows (SO much easier to make than you would think) and Homemade Candied Orange Peel candy. I know that the candy seems strange with hot cocoa but it is pretty on the board and people love it! (Unfortunately, it’s not showing up very well on the board… look in the upper right hand corner and you can see part of it!)

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Another Charcuterie tradition I love is the one my two grand-girls put together. When my daughter first started this New Years Even party they were quite young and they wanted a candy board! So I took them to a local candy shop where I let them buy specialty candy to build their board, and that tradition has continued. This year they are 16 and 13 and just as excited to go buy their candy for their board as they were five years ago the first time we did it!

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You can get really crazy with a Charcuterie Board arrangement… and there are plenty of step by step instructions online to help you build a gorgeous arrangement. Or, you can just kind of wing it like I do! In our group we have a few people that put together some of the most incredible Charcuterie Boards; truly a work of art. But the whole thing is just to have fun with it and let your imagination roll!

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So now, I’m excited to share some photos with you from some (yes, only some!) of the New Years Eve Charcuterie parties we’ve had the last few years!

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I hope you have the most joyful New Years Eve! If you have a tradition… please share it in the comments!

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May your heart be light, your days be bright,

and your year be just right!

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Until our gravel roads cross again… so long.

Dori

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