Butcher’s Guide · Recipe
The Summer Sausage Charcuterie Board
No prosciutto. No fig jam apologies. Fifteen minutes, one board, built like a northern Minnesota deer camp got dressed up for the holidays.
Stittsworth Meats · Bemidji, MN · Butcher shop since 1940
Charcuterie got complicated somewhere around 2019. Honeycomb, edible flowers, six kinds of imported ham nobody can pronounce. Meanwhile the board that actually gets emptied at every Minnesota gathering has been the same for seventy years: smoked summer sausage, sharp cheddar, crackers, mustard, pickles.
This is that board — with the quantities, the slice thickness, and the assembly order that makes it look intentional instead of thrown together. Serves 6–8 as an appetizer. Fifteen minutes if the sausage is already in the fridge.
The List
Nine things. That’s the board.
1 smoked summer sausage (12 oz), sliced ¼″ on a bias
4–6 beef snack sticks, cut into thirds
4 oz sharp cheddar, cubed or sliced
4 oz Swiss or smoked gouda
Plain water crackers + one heartier grain cracker
Stone-ground mustard, small bowl
Cornichons or dill spears, small bowl
Dried cherries or crisp apple slices
Roasted salted nuts for the corners
Upgrade path: swap the original for Wild Rice Cheddar Summer Sausage or add the Prime Rib Horseradish Cheese as a second arc for a crowd.
Assembly Order
Meat first. Everything else fills in.
01
Fan the sausage
One or two arcs of overlapping ¼-inch slices across the board. The biggest element goes down first and sets the whole layout. Bias-cut ovals look deliberate; straight rounds look like lunch.
02
Split the cheeses
Cheddar on one side, Swiss or gouda on the other. Nobody should have to reach across the board to build their ideal cracker.
03
Stack the snack sticks
Cut sticks into thirds and pile them log-cabin style near the middle. They vanish first at every gathering we've ever catered — put them where hands can get at them.
04
Fill every gap
Crackers along the long gaps, mustard and pickles in small bowls, fruit and nuts in the corners. The rule: no bare wood showing when you're done.
05
Rest to room temp
Twenty to thirty minutes on the counter before serving. Cold fat is mute fat — room temperature is where the smoke and seasoning actually show up.
Leave It Out
Three things that don’t belong.
1. Soft, mild cheeses.
Brie and fresh mozzarella disappear next to smoked sausage. You want acid and sharpness, not butter on butter.
2. Flavored crackers.
Rosemary-truffle-everything crackers fight the meat. The cracker is a plate. Keep it plain.
3. Sweet jams as the default.
A little dried fruit covers the sweet corner. Mustard is the condiment that belongs with smoked sausage — it’s been that way since before any of us were born.
FAQ
Board math and timing.
How much meat per person?
2–3 oz per person as an appetizer. One 12 oz summer sausage plus snack sticks feeds 6–8 comfortably alongside the cheese. Double the sausage for game day.
Can I build it ahead?
Meat and cheese, yes — up to a day, covered in the fridge. Crackers and nuts go on at serving time or they go soft.
Cold or room temperature?
Room temp, always. Pull the board 20–30 minutes before guests arrive.
What if I need it bigger?
Add a second sausage arc (the horseradish cheese one earns its spot), more sticks, and a third cheese. Or grab a bundle and skip the math.
Next step
Stock the board from the smokehouse.
The board anchor, smoked over real hardwood.
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