Charcuterie is an easy Thanksgiving appetizer, but some meat, cheese, and crackers on a tray is boring. Instead, arrange them to look like a turkey and make this Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board.
For more ways to make this the best holiday, check out all of our Thanksgiving posts.
We always have cheese and crackers for an appetizer before Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not sure why, but it seems like everyone always serves some display of meats and cheeses.
And yes, you can arrange them on a plate all pretty like and call it charcuterie because that’s the buzzword of the last decade. But, it’s still just the antipasto of our parents’ generation.
The next generation will probably call it something else.
Whatever you call it, you’re gonna serve it. It’s the perfect way to snack, but not fill up, before dinner.
And if you want a fun way make it feel a little bit special, because it is Thanksgiving after all, go with our Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board. It’s everything you expect from a charcuterie board, but in a fun turkey design. I promise you, it takes minimal effort on your part, but looks like you did a lot of work.
We had so much fun putting this together for Thanksgiving last year. And it was such a big hit. We have lots of hungry guests every Thanksgiving, so we actually made two of turkey-shaped charcuterie boards with different types of cheese, meat, and crackers to offer a little variety to the turkey-shaped charcuterie board.
This is the perfect appetizer for your Thanksgiving gatherings. If you have the holiday on your brain, and you’re trying to make it simple, our Thanksgiving Tips For The Easiest Holiday are sure to help.
Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board
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These ingredients are just examples. The best part of this fun idea is you can use whatever savory meats, delicious cheese, and fun crackers your family likes best. There’s no wrong way to make it.
Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board Ingredients:
How To Make A Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board:
Grab a white tray.
Create an oval of Ritz crackers as large as the serving tray will allow. Those will be the edges of your turkey feathers.
Slice the dry salami.
Add a circular row of the salami slices on top of the Ritz crackers, leaving some room so you can see the crackers behind the meat.
Quick note: Pepperoni would be a great way to fill in this row instead. It’s already cut into circles, so it would save you a little bit of time.
Slice the cheese.
Add a row of the cheese on top of the salami, again allowing some room between the two so you can still see the salami.
Add another row of Ritz crackers.
Then another row of salami.
Then fill in the middle with a second type of cheese.
Now comes the good knife skills.
Slice a thin piece of the cheddar cheese, long ways.
Cut out a body shape, just the head and body. That’s gonna be your turkey’s body.
Add three Ritz crackers in the middle of the tray, then lay the cheese turkey on top.
Add two candy eyes.
Quick note: If you don’t want to use candy eyes, you can cut tiny pieces of black olives instead. That’s how I make the eyes for our mummy pizzas.
Cut a small piece of salami and use that as the wattle.
Cut a small piece of cheddar cheese. Place it between the candy eyes and the wattle to be the nose.
I had a plastic pilgrim’s hat from Thanksgiving cupcakes, so I put that on his head as well.
If you don’t have one, you can either leave your turkey’s head bare, which is easier, or cut a hat out of leftover salami and cheese. Either works.
Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board: Frequently Asked Questions
We don’t recommend making this charcuterie board too far ahead of time. You don’t really want the meat and cheese to sit out at room temperature for too long.
You could make it the morning of Thanksgiving day, then wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. But, you risk the crackers getting soggy from sitting between meat and cheese.
So, if you need to save on time, you can cut the cheese and meat ahead of time, but I don’t recommend assembling the charcuterie board until you’re ready to eat it.
Whatever size serving tray you have in the cabinet right now is the best size. Honestly. Don’t run out to grab a new board for this. Just use whatever you have at home. If your tray is smaller, and all you can fit is a half circle instead of a full oval, that’s fine. If you can only fit one cheese instead of a variety of cheeses, that’s fine.
A circular board would work really well to easily shape the tail feathers, then build the rest of the board around it. But, I don’t have one of those, so I used a rectangular tray. You can still see the shape of a turkey that way.
Honestly, this is supposed to be a fun appetizer for your Thanksgiving table, so don’t stress about the details.
If you have any leftovers, just put everything in an airtight container. Store the meat and cheese in the fridge. You can store the crackers at room temperature.
More Unique Charcuterie Boards:
This isn’t the only non-traditional charcuterie board we’ve made for holiday gatherings. We also have a Charcuterie Tree For Christmas. The tree is filled with an assortment of cheeses and meats, shaped like a 3D Christmas tree.
And, for a dessert board idea, try our Cookie Charcuterie Board. That’s a beautiful board made from cookies and frosting from the grocery store, so it’s really easy to put together in minutes.
Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board
Charcuterie is an easy Thanksgiving appetizer, but some meat, cheese, and crackers on a tray is boring. Instead, arrange them to look like a turkey and make this Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board.
Ingredients
- Ritz Crackers
- Dry salami
- White cheddar cheese block
- Colby-Jack cheese block
- Cheddar cheese block
- Two candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Grab a white tray.
- Create an oval of Ritz crackers as large as the serving tray will allow. Those will be the edges of your turkey feathers.
- Slice the dry salami.
- Add a circular row of the salami slices on top of the Ritz crackers, leaving some room so you can see the crackers behind the meat.
- Slice the cheese.
- Add a row of the cheese on top of the salami, again allowing some room between the two so you can still see the salami.
- Add another row of Ritz crackers.
- Then another row of salami.
- Then fill in the middle with a second type of cheese.
- Slice the cheese.
- Add a row of the cheese on top of the salami, again allowing some room between the two so you can still see the salami.
- Add another row of Ritz crackers.
- Then another row of salami.
- Then fill in the middle with a second type of cheese.
- Cut a small piece of salami and use that as the wattle.
- Cut a small piece of cheddar cheese. Place it between the candy eyes and the wattle to be the nose.
- I had a plastic pilgrim’s hat from Thanksgiving cupcakes, so I put that on his head as well.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 44Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 9mgSodium 75mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 2g
Have you made this Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board? Let us know how it went in the comments.