I think I can speak for everyone when I say that Top Gun Maverick is one of the best movies that has come out in a long time.
I know that for me- I had to see it more than once while it was still in theaters. With the Fourth of July right around the corner, it only was fitting that our 4th of July Board was Top Gun themed. So, where do we get started? I knew that I needed to find a big staple piece for the board & then pair that with all of my favorite red, white, and blue charcuterie options & I am ecstatic at the way it turned out! Here are all of the things that I included to build this red, white, and blue “Top Gun: Maverick” themed charcuterie board!
Fighter Jet Brie Cutout
When deciding how to incorporate the Danger Zone theme to a charcuterie board, we knew it was a must to use a fighter jet as the focus for the board. I found a set of cookie cutters on Amazon that had an airplane, a fighter jet, and an aircraft carrier. We love to shop for fun cutters to use for a brie cut out- the centerpiece of our board. Make sure to reference our “How To: Brie Cutout” Blog HERE if you need a guide with the basics of a brie cutout!
Cutouts, like this one, help customize the board to whatever theme you are doing & are bound to WOW your guests!
I will include the links to a few other designs that would also work for a “Top Gun” theme, or even just for the Fourth of July, so have fun & be creative when picking out your cutout design!
Cheeses
As for our cheeses, I chose to do all white cheeses to go with our red, white, and blue theme! For this board, I chose to use a Triple Cream Brie, Coastal Aged White Cheddar, and Irish Dubliner. Some other great white cheese options that your guests are bound to love are Jarlsberg, Gouda, Havarti, Goat Cheese, or a BellaVitano.
BabyBel Star Cutouts
Another inexpensive way to customize your board and make it unique to the theme is to get a small star shaped cookie cutter, and a pack of Mini wrapped Babybel cheeses! The small rounds are a perfect size for a small appetizer board like the one here, and similarly to the brie cutouts, you can use the star shaped cookie cutter to make an imprint in the red wax. You can pull out the inside of the star, and you are left with a white star design cutout in your babybel wax!
@charcuteriecollective How To: Babybel ⭐️ Cutout #cheese #cheeseboard #fourthofjuly #topgunmode #fourth #america #usa #unitedstates #star #patriotic #redwhiteandblue #4th
Meat, Fruits, Vegetables, & Garnishes
For our board, I used Genoa Salami and a Spicy Sopressata as our charcuterie options. I chose them because of how their color helps accompany the theme well. Some other great options could be other Salamis, like hard Salami, as well as Pepperoni
Now, when deciding what fruits and vegetables I wanted to incorporate, I decided to use blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and red bell peppers for their color! I didn’t include tomatoes on this particular board, but red cherry tomatoes would be a great vegetable option to add for your board! If you are doing a larger board needing to feed more people, options like cauliflower. jicama, black grapes, or cherries are all great options to help fill up space on a grazing table.
As for garnishes, I chose to use slow roasted almonds to help fill in any small gaps or spaces on my board, as well as adding white yogurt pretzels to fill in any bigger spaces, as well as add some pops of white throughout the board. A great idea for your board could also be to add seasonal red white and blue candy, as these would help tie the board together and fill in empty spaces. M&Ms & Skittles both seasonally make “American Mixes” which are packs of exclusively red, white, and blue candies. Hershey Kisses are another great idea to add to your board & you can find ones that pair with the theme. Make sure to check Trader Joes as well, as they often have their own seasonal selections, and often have many cute patriotic options, like star cookies and other fun treats!
Theme Add Ons
When looking for fun, simple additions to add to this board, I was so excited to find the fun star shaped crackers at Sprouts Farmers Market. I knew these would be perfect for the theme and would pair phenomenally. These crackers are manufactured by Valley Lahvosh and are available on Amazon if you do not have a Sprouts Farmers Market near you. Valley Lahvosh also produces crackers in other shapes, for example hearts, which would be a great addition to a Valentine’s Day themed charcuterie board. At the end of the day, all of the little, unique things that you find for your board are what make it so distinct and special. I have included the Star Crackers on our Amazon List for this board so click HERE to purchase them through Amazon.
Amazon Links
I have included the links to the fighter jet and stars cutouts, as well as other options that we mentioned in this post to our Amazon List so make sure to check that out HERE to help you prepare for your Top Gun themed party. Our list has everything in one place for you to hopefully make things simple & fun for you to build your own board! Make sure to check out our online course, Charcuterie Made Simple, if you need help building the charcuterie board.
As always, we urge you to customize your board to include YOUR favorite cheeses, meats, fruits, and vegetables! With a charcuterie board, there is truly no way to “go wrong” or “mess up,” so have fun with it and be creative! We want to see what you decide to create, so make sure to tag us on Instagram when you make your Top Gun or Fourth of July themed boards so that we can repost your beautiful work!