Make Individual Charcuterie Cones The Star Of Your Next Big Event

Charcuterie boards are the beloved finger-food-friendly party appetizer favorite. The cured meats and artisan cheeses are artfully placed, surrounded by stacks of crackers, accouterments like fruit and jams, olives and pickles, and crunchy nuts. It's an appetizing, eye-catching feast that always impresses. However, sometimes you have a picky guest averse to their food touching, or you overestimate how much your guests want to snack on and end up creating a giant board with tons of precious (and sometimes pricey!) charcuterie left behind. Or you're bored of boards and want a new charcuterie challenge. Enter your next party planning obsession: charcuterie cones.

Charcuterie cones take the base charcuterie ingredients and place them inside a cone; sometimes, an edible cone, and sometimes not. Craft a few skewers with your meats, cheeses, and fruits to insert into the cones first, then fill in the extra space with nuts or seeds and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Just like that, you've created a charcuterie cone! Now, you have an individual — and even more finger-friendly — version of your classic charcuterie board. 

First, you'll need to acquire a sturdy cone to hold your filling. For an easy, disposable option, paper cones will do the trick. Also, have a bunch of skewers on hand to allow guests to pick their charcuterie out of the cone. A semi-firm or hard cheese that you can easily cut into cubes and push onto the skewers is ideal. When you build the skewers, alternate a cube of cheese with a grape or folded salami; you can even roll up prosciutto to stick perfectly into the gaps. Edible flowers, a unique charcuterie board ingredient, can make for a lovely aesthetic touch.

If you want to take a literal approach to charcuterie cones literally, use an edible one. While typical waffle ice cream cones may not be the best choice for serving savory meats, they will work for cones filled with lighter, sweeter cheeses and fresh fruits like raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. However, you can keep the classic charcuterie ingredients with savory croissant cones. You can even ditch the skewers for this version and place a blanket of salami inside the croissant cone to hold all your cheese and olive goodies instead. Then, you and your guests can bite into your fluffy, savory cones for a perfect balance in each bite!

If the paper or edible cones are not your style, how about using a similar method to put your charcuterie in jars? If you're already an avid pickler or jam-maker, you may have some mason jars, which can be used to build individual charcuterie jars. The skewers may still come in handy here, or you can layer your ingredients inside and provide toothpicks for your guests to fish their bites out. When you want to elevate your presentation or create themed charcuterie for a specific event, there are other great ways to take this appetizer to the next level. 

With a simple foam cone, you can create a charcuterie tower. First, wrap the foam cone in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then use toothpicks to secure the ingredients. It doesn't have to be Christmas to make a beautiful, festive charcute-wreath, although they are perfect for the holidays. For those first venturing outside typical charcuterie board territory, start with easy and fun charcuterie cones and let your creativity run wild!