A bouquet of flowers is nice. But what if you could make a bouquet out of something a bit more savoury? Charcuterie skewers are the perfect way to make an eye-catching, delicious meat bouquet for that special someone (or special occasion!). Let’s take a look at everything you need to make the ultimate meat bouquet.
All you need is some skewers, a selection of your favourite ingredients, and a few simple assembly instructions, and you’ve got yourself a delicious and unique snack or appetizer. Charcuterie skewers are perfect for parties and special occasions, and they make an excellent presentation piece! They’re great for Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day and more!
What You Need to Make Charcuterie Skewers and a Meat Bouquet
The first step to making charcuterie skewers for a meat bouquet is gathering the supplies you’ll need. Here’s what we used:
- wooden skewers, preferably quality skewers that are thick and sturdy
- assorted meats, cheeses, fruits, olives, herbs and cheese straws
- parchment paper
- kraft paper or wrapping paper
- butcher twine
- rosemary
Choosing the Ingredients for Charcuterie Skewers
When selecting ingredients, it’s important to choose items that pair well aesthetically, easy to skewer, and stimulate the palate with a variety of flavours.
Colour
Consider the colours of the foods you select for a visually appealing presentation. You can look at different colour combinations, such as earthy tones for a rustic look or bright colours for a vibrant display.
Some earthy-toned foods you can skewer include dried apricots, figs or dried figs, rosemary, and olives.
If you are looking for a vibrant display try using colourful fruits and vegetables like strawberries, bell peppers, and tomatoes.
Not Everything is Ideal for Skewering
A warning that some foods will fall apart if you try to skewer them!
Soft ingredients don’t fare well to being punctured. These foods include very soft cheeses, kiwi, blackberries (we used them but they were soft and on the border of breaking open) and other very soft or over-ripe fruits.
Stick with firmer ingredients like salami, prosciutto, hard cheeses, strawberries and cherry tomatoes.
Be sure that cheeses are cut thick enough to handle a skewer. If it’s cut too thin, the cheese can break when being skewered.
Variety of Flavours + Textures
When creating your charcuterie skewers, be sure to consider textures and the five tastes in your skewer.
To cover the flavours of sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami, try incorporating berries or fruit for sweetness, cured meats and olives for salty, pickled cucumbers or vegetables for sour, citrus for bitter flavours, and cured meats and tomatoes for umami flavours.
How to Make Charcuterie Skewers
In this how-to, we use charcuterie skewers to make a meat bouquet but you can serve charcuterie skewers as-is on a platter.
For the meat bouquet, we arranged each skewer with a single food for an organized and attractive presentation. We made a few skewers of each of the following:
- folded cured meat such as sliced calabrese or genoa
- small pepperettes
- green olives (stuffed with blue cheese) – these were packed in oil so we patted them dry
- red grapes
- blackberries
- firm cheese cut into small wedges (the cheese we used had a wedge shape so we kept that shape. If you have a brick of cheese you could cut it into small cubes or wedges)
If you are serving charcuterie skewers on a platter, you may want to consider alternating meats, cheeses, fruits and olives so that each skewer has a variety of flavours.
How to Make a Meat Bouquet with Charcuterie Skewers
First, you’ll want to start with a clean surface to cut out a square piece of parchment paper and kraft paper (or wrapping paper).
Lay the kraft paper down, followed by the parchment paper. The parchment paper is to protect the kraft paper from any moisture that will come with the skewers later.
Start arranging your skewers on the surface so that the tops of the skewers are overlapping one of the corners of the paper.
Let your chosen skewers, such as cured meats and other delicacies, take center stage by positioning them at the front of the bouquet.
For added sturdiness, you can tie the skewers together for a more secure package if you’re taking them on the go.
Now it’s time to wrap it up! Fold the corner of the paper opposite to the top of the bouquet over the wooden skewer ends. Then wrap each remaining corner over and secure it with a sticker or tape if needed. Use butcher twine or ribbon to tie the skewer bouquet together and add a gift tag.
Once it’s secured you can tuck some finishing touches into your bouquet. Add some springs of rosemary or thyme and cheese straws.
If you aren’t enjoying the charcuterie skewers right away, we suggest leaving the cheese straws/crackers off until it’s time to serve. This will prevent them from going soggy from the moist ingredients.
Once your bouquet is assembled, you can take them to-go or serve them as-is on a platter. Enjoy!
Final Thoughts
Charcuterie skewers are a delicious and unique way to serve up a variety of meats, cheeses, and other ingredients. All you need is some skewers, a selection of your favourite ingredients, and a few simple assembly instructions, and you’ve got yourself a delicious and unique snack or appetizer. When assembled in a bouquet, charcuterie skewers make an impressive presentation piece that will wow your guests. So, what are you waiting for? Get creative and start assembling your charcuterie skewer bouquet today!
