When it’s hot outside, it’s hard to beat the sweet refreshing taste of colorful watermelon. But did you know that you can make pickled watermelon rind?
Omg! After years of throwing out the watermelon rinds, we discovered that they can easily be fermented into watermelon pickles! And they actually stay super crispy compared to dill pickles. Wow! 😮
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Pickled Watermelon Rind Recipe
Makes 1 quart mason jar
Tired of your cucumber pickles getting soft? These crispy watermelon pickles might be the answer to your dreams. Take a slice and add to burgers, chop into relish, or enjoy as a salty and sour snack!
Equipment:
1 quart mason jar, wide-mouth, cleaned
Fermentation weight – We love these!
Fermentation lid or 1 half pint mason jar, cleaned (jelly jar for weight)
Ingredients:
Watermelon rind, ~1 round slice two inches thick depending on size
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 onion, sliced
1/2 T. dill, dried OR 2 tsp. dill, fresh (optional)
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp whole peppercorns
Sea salt, to taste (we use 1 1/2 T. salt to 2 cups water)
Non-chlorinated water, enough to fill jar when packed
Cut a fresh round from a watermelon about 2 inches thick. You might need more or less depending on the size of your watermelon.
Cut the round into quarters and remove the fruit up to the rind. It’s okay to leave a little pink flesh.
Peel one of the watermelon rinds by holding it in one hand and peeling with the other. By cutting the round into quarters, it lets you get a good grip on a rind so it’s easier to peel.
Cut your peeled watermelon rinds into small squares or rectangles. This will make it easier to Tetris into the mason jar. Set aside.
Cut, peel, and smash your garlic to release all of those good flavors and cut your onions into slices.
Add the garlic and onion to the bottom of the mason jar along with your spices. Keeping those at the bottom of the jar prevents them from floating to the top.
Add in your freshly cut watermelon rinds to the jar. This might take a little Tetris to get them all to fit and you might have some leftover. Give the jar a shake to make more room. You might even have to cut a couple pieces smaller to allow more to fit in the jar.
Fill the jar with your non-chlorinated salt brine up to the neck of the jar. You might need more or less water depending on how much you were able to pack into the jar.
Place your fermentation weight inside the jar to weigh everything down. The weight should make the brine rise up above all the ingredients. You might have to add a bit more around the edges if you don’t have enough to cover everything below the brine.
Place your fermentation lid on top of the jar, screw the ring on, and you’re ready to ferment! I also like to give the jar a little shake to get all of the ingredients incorporated throughout the jar.
Ferment on the counter from 3-7 days depending on how strong you like your pickles. The nice thing is even at a longer ferment time, these watermelon pickles will still stay crispy!
Watermelon Rind Pickles – What to Expect During Fermentation
From day 1 to day 2 you’ll see bubbles forming and the salt brine might even start getting a little cloudy. By day 3 the brine is getting cloudy and you’ll even start to see some sediment on the bottom of the jar as the lacto-bacilli bacteria and yeast eat the sugar and produce lactic acid.
After a couple of days, feel free to give your lacto-fermented watermelon rind pickles a taste to see if it’s starting to get to that sour pickle flavor you desire. We prefer in the 3-4 day range after the bubbles have subsided and the watermelon pickle flavor is nice and strong.
Pickled Watermelon Rind – Delicious, Crispy, and Easy!
If you love watermelon but have been throwing the rinds away, seriously consider trying this old-fashioned watermelon rind pickle recipe! It makes great use of the entire watermelon and will make you think differently about this delicious summer fruit.
We’ve enjoyed watermelon pickle slices on burgers, chopped up into relish, or as a salty treat to enjoy on its own. As always thank you so much for joining us on this recipe!
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