Red Wine Vinegar Pickled Watermelon Rind with Fresh Basil

August 31, 2014 | No Comments

Welcome to week 33 of Reddit’s 52 Weeks of Cooking Challenge. This week’s theme is melons. This recipe is a bit different from my Pickled Watermelon Rind recipe, in that this pickle is a condiment, used as a salty sour sweet crunchy topping for pulled pork sandwich, in the place of coleslaw, or chopped fine as a side dish, to accompany a spicy main course.

This is watermelon season, and I am taking full advantage. My family and I eat everything but the tough green rind. Our chickens happily take care of that for us.

I left some of the pink on the rind, to make it a bit prettier, and to up the sweet factor. My friend, neighbor and taste tester says that the pink flesh gives the pickles a fruit forward, tutti frutti flavor.

I love the look of watermelon.

I packed about ten fresh basil leaves into each jar when all was said and done. This recipe is adapted from here.

Red Wine Vinegar Pickled Watermelon Rinds

Recipe type: Condiments

Author: Jillian

Ingredients

Rinds from half a watermelon, chopped into matchsticks, green outer shell removed
1 cup watermelon juice
3 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar plus more to taste
2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
10 fresh basil leaves per quart jar of watermelon rind

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, mix together watermelon juice, red wine vinegar, sugar and salt
Taste mixture and adjust seasoning if needed
Pack watermelon rind slices into a clean, quart sized mason jar
Pour watermelon juice mixture over watermelon rind and refrigerate for 24-48 hours before serving
Each pickling liquid recipe will yield enough for approximately 2-3 jars of pickled watermelon rind.