Looking to jazz up your charcuterie presentation this holiday season? Try this festive DIY that transforms a platter of cured meats, cheeses and accouterments into an adorable edible chalet.
While gingerbread houses will always reign supreme as the dessert decor, a savory structure like the charcuterie chalet is any salty snack lover's dream.
This tasty DIY trend first appeared in 2016 and surged to viral popularity on social media in 2020 with feeds overflowing of intricate meat-made architecture.
And if you haven't made one before, this season is your shot to deck the halls with salami shingles, breadstick beams, rosemary wreaths and soft cheese snowmen.
Our team tested some strategies with the multiple ingredients to help create a unique charcuterie chalet of your own.
Ingredients
Pretzel rods - to build the house
Everything bagel crackers - for the roof
Almonds - for the walkway
Salami - for the walkway
Mozzarella balls - to make snowballs
Grated parmesan cheese - for the snow effect
Cream cheese - to hold the house and roof together
Round crackers - for the windows
Cheddar cheese to make pavers next to the house
Ritz crackers - to make pavers next to the house
Peppers - to make Santa’s sleigh
Pretzel square - for the fence
Rosemary - to mimic trees and a wreath
Goat cheese - can be used for an optional snowman
Assembly and tips
Building a charcuterie chalet can be daunting and slightly trickier than building a regular gingerbread house. Especially since it doesn’t come with a pre-cut house and directions, you have to use your creativity.
Stack the pretzel rods to build a log cabin and create a stable foundation and then built the roof with everything bagel crackers.
The thin, lightweight crackers help build the roof, which gets held together by cream cheese and lean against each one for added support.
Build a fence of square crackers that sink into the cream cheese snow-like covered base, shape salami into a walkway with surrounding almonds set as pavers and use rosemary sprigs as trees.
After adding more crackers for the house, add a sleigh made of bell peppers and more herbs to create a wreath on the door and complete the snow-covered chalet topped with a fresh dusting of grated cheese.
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