Pickled Watermelon Rind

I know it sounds crazy, but the last bounty of summer has me thinking about Thanksgiving. Wait, wait....I'll explain.

Growing up, Turkey Day dinners were always at my grandmother's house in Oklahoma. Sure we had the usual suspects...turkey, dressing, pies, green bean casserole...but the highlight was actually the relish tray. I mean trayS. The finest antique cut and pressed glass dishes holding pit-in black olives (back in the day when they were actually hard to find), spiced peaches and cranberry sauce.

Oh, and pickled watermelon rind. It was the only time of the year I ate it...and I loved it. Tangy tart and sweet, it's truly a "Southern thing." It seemed to disappear from grocery store shelves for a while, but I eventually tracked it down and was responsible for bringing it to Thanksgiving dinner...now at my parents' house.

But this year, I'm actually one-upping my grandmother (sorry!) and making my own. Found a watermelon at the grocery and got to work. After scooping the flesh out and using it for the watermelon lemonade recipe I posted the other day, I got to work with the vegetable peeler scraping the outer skin off (the hardest part of the process). After brining and canning, I was left with several jars of pickles that my family will "ooh" and "aahhh" over come November.

Pickled Watermelon Rind
Makes 3 pint jars.
From Cooking Light.

1 (6-pound) watermelon
6 cups water
2 tablespoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon pickling spice
3 (1/4-inch) slices fresh ginger
2 whole cloves
2 whole allspice
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar


Carefully remove outer green layer from watermelon rind using a vegetable peeler. Reserve remaining watermelon for another use. Cut rind into 1/2-inch pieces. Bring 6 cups water and 5 teaspoons salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rind to pan. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain rind. Place in a large bowl.

Place pickling spice, ginger, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon on a double layer of cheesecloth. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely. Combine cheesecloth bag, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, sugar, and vinegar in saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over rind. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill 12 hours.

Strain rind mixture through a sieve over a saucepan; return solids to bowl. Bring liquid to a boil; carefully pour over solids. Chill at least 8 hours before serving. (Note: I canned the pickles by pouring into sterilized jars and processing in boiling water according to Ball canning procedures.)