Pickled Watermelon Rinds

Check our Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen Blog Post – In Praise of the True Southern Watermelon Rinds

8 pounds watermelon
2 tbsp salt
4 cups water
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp pureéd fresh ginger
yellow peel from one lemon
2 tbsp allspice
2 tbsp whole cloves

Remove rind from watermelon and reserve red part to enjoy at your leisure (or for the Backroads Bibb Salad). Using a vegetable peeler, remove the green skin from the rind and discard the skin. Cut rind into ½ inch pieces. This should yield about 8 cups. In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons salt and 4 cups of water and allow rind to soak in the brine for one hour, then drain. In a large pot, combine lemon juice, 1 cup of water, sugar, ginger puree, lemon peel and spices. Add rind, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered over medium-low, for 40 minutes or until rind is translucent. With a slotted spoon, transfer rind to a plastic container. Strain liquid and pour over rind. Makes 4 cups.

Disclaimer: All our recipes were originally designed for much larger batch size. This recipe has been reduced – but not tested at this scale. Please adjust as to your taste and portion size.