We are so excited share the charcuterie board we made with cheese and meat from Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy. Now, we are no charcuterie board experience, but we think it turned out pretty great! So we will share a few tips and strategies on what we did just in case you want to put one together this summer for a gathering! They are simple, but look impressive. But before we do, we want to share a little bit more about the Ponderosa Farmstead.
Ponderosa Farmstead
The farmstead is located near Lake Michigan in Kewaunee, Wisconsin and their retail store is located in Luxemburg, Wisconsin. So if you’re headed up to Door County this summer like we are, you’ll have to make a pit stop for cheese! They also offer farm tours in Kewaunee, which would be a neat thing for kids to see and experience! Their goal is to provide their customers farm-fresh cheese. They only use milk from the animals they raise on their third-generation family farm.
They have snack cheese like string cheese, cheese whips, and cheese curds. They also have specialty cheese, dessert cheese, and cheese spreads. So many awesome options, and we will highlight some that we put on our board! If you aren’t able to make a stop at their retail store, you can order online too and this ship right to your door.
How to Build a Ponderosa Dairy Charcuterie Board
Like I mentioned above, we are no charcuterie board experts, but we did a little research and gave it a go! We used 5 simple steps to build it – which ended up being 5 categories. Cheese, meat, sweet, savory, and bread/crackers. Our goal was to pick up items from the store in each of those categories, and then just build step by step. We started by spreading everything out, and then just playing around with it as we went.
Step 1: Cheese
Step 1 seems like the most important right? We were lucky that Ponderosa sent us some really great options to start with! We used their cheese curds, three pepper cheddar, deep medium cheddar, cheese whips, and snow cheddar which was maybe our favorite! We cut each of them into different shapes, and the spread them around the board, spacing things nicely based on shape and color.
Step 2: Meat
Next up – the meat! We kept it simple and used the barbecue beef sticks from Ponderosa and picked up some salami from the store. It’s hard to go wrong with salami. Other cured meats like pepperoni, prosciutto, chorizo, or ham are also great options. Go for a variety of flavors and textures that will pair nicely with the cheeses!
Step 3: Sweet
Sweet is a fun category because there are so many options! We did a variety of fruits and used apples, pears, raspberries, and dried apricots. We also added chocolate covered pretzels and a variety of jams, spreads, and honey. Chocolate is a great option here, or anything covered in chocolate like nuts or fruit! It’s also really fun to use different fruit spreads. I got a local Raspberry Rose spread from Quince and Apple and a Spicy Peach spread. Again, the more options and flavors the better!
Step 4: Savory
Savory is going to be anything that is salty… besides the bread/crackers! They get their own category. For savory, think nuts, seeds, olives, etc. And again, go for a variety of textures and flavors! We did almonds, cashews, and green olives.
Step 5: Crackers/Bread
Last up are the crackers and bread. These are going to be the vehicles for many of the other items, so again, you want variety in texture, flavor, and shape! We didn’t actually use any bread, but did quite a variety of crackers – both regular and gluten free. We both love gluten free pretzels and there are some really great brands out there now. So it’s nice to be able to include both in case you have a guest who is gluten free.
That’s a wrap!
That’s it friends! We whipped that together in no time and ended up serving it to some girl friends for Katie’s birthday. They were all very impressed, and it was honestly so easy. Having the 5 steps really helped us, and we hope it helps you too! Just spread things out based on color, texture, and group. And then play around with it until you’re happy with how it looks. If you’re looking for some other ideas on appetizers or things to serve at a gathering, we have more ideas here.
