Charcuterie platters and cheese boards are super popular appetisers, especially when hosting. There’s often a strong emphasis on charcuterie or deli meats, in which pork features heavily. But many people don’t eat pork for religious or personal reasons. If you or your guests are pork-free, it can seem like a cheese board or charcuterie platter is just too hard, however, it’s not hard to fill a cheese board or charcuterie platter with pork alternatives with a little creativity. Here we list some ideas for a pork-free cheeseboard.
- Beef charcuterie: The obvious first step is to replace pork products with other meats. Charcutiers having been making beef charcuterie for centuries, beef salami and chorizo are widely available, often from independent charcutiers. You might have to order online to get these so make sure you plan in advance.
- Chicken: Smoked and sliced or roast chicken is a good option for replacing pork on cheese boards too. Most supermarkets should at least have some kind of sliced chicken on hand so this can be an option if beef salami eludes you.
- Rillettes: Creamy, meaty rillettes add wonderful savoury flavours to a cheese board or charcuterie platter and are easily made without the pork. While commonly made with salmon, rillettes can be made from mushroom, beef, duck or many other meats and vegetables as well. Serve with toasted bread or make into crostini.
- Strong savoury flavours. A good cheese board is about balance so if charcuterie is not an option, replace the savoury meats with strong flavours like olives, pickles or even sundried tomatoes.
- Marinated Tofu or Tempeh: These vegetarian proteins can be cooked, sliced and served on a platter with ease. They are very mild flavours so there is no limit to the kind of marinades that they will work with, so just pick your favourite or try something new.
- Seafood: If all else fails, seafood platters are also a good option. Prawns, oysters, mussels arranged on an ice plate make for a very high end offering for you and your guests.
- Any of the suggestions on our vegetarian cheeseboard ideas post.
There is a wide world of flavour beyond pork products which is well worth taking the time to explore. Hopefully these ideas inspire you to create a cheese board with or without traditional pork charcuterie.