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Leftover charcuterie is a challenge for any host/hostess. You never want to run out of meats and cheeses halfway through the party, so you are often faced with a good amount of leftovers once everyone has gone home. You wouldn’t ever want to throw away delicious charcuterie, but what else can you do with it?
Whether it’s the ends of salamis that weren’t pretty enough to present, or the one cheese that didn’t seem to hit it off with the guests, here are our favorite tips on how to turn your charcuterie leftovers into a new mouth-watering dish:
Sandwiches. The easiest and more obvious option. Charcuterie sandwiches are always a delicious lunch the following day and can incorporate any meats and cheeses you have leftover.
Pasta. Another quick fix is to dice up the leftovers and cook them into a pasta dish. Whether you add them to a pasta carbonara in place of bacon, or include them in baked ziti, charcuterie compliments Italian pasta dishes very well.
Vegetables. Leftover meat can be diced up and used as fat for cooking vegetables. Our favorites are kale, Brussel sprouts, and green beans. The meat gives the vegetables a rich, salty flavor that will even make your kids fans of eating their greens!
Bread. One of the more unusual things you can do with charcuterie leftovers is baking them into bread. A bakery we love grinds up their leftover charcuterie, cooks it with minced shallots, and bakes it into a house-baked country bread. While not the easiest option, it certainly is unique and delicious.
Spreads. To make a leftover charcuterie spread, you will need to have cheese as well as meat, since cured meat lack moisture. Chop them together in a food processor and you will have a spreadable paté that will last another week in your fridge. This is a great way to extend the life of your charcuterie and make sandwiches and crackers more flavorful.
Whatever you decide to do with your leftover charcuterie, make sure you store the meat properly so it remains fresh until you are ready to use it. We recommend making your cured meats and cheeses into something new within 24 hours if they have been sitting out on a board during your event. Options like bread or spreads are the best if you are trying to extend the life of the meat, whereas sandwiches, pastas, and vegetables are easy immediate options.
There’s an endless amount of ways to utilize leftover charcuterie and all of these options can be edited and adapted to make your own delicious recipes. Get creative!
