Citrus And Spice Pickled Watermelon Rind
- Rind from a medium-size (10–12 pounds) watermelon (the thicker the better)
- 3 quarts and 3 cups water
- 31 ⁄4 cups organic raw cane sugar
- 3⁄4 cup coarse sea salt
- 4 2-inch cinnamon sticks
- 2 tablespoons whole cloves
- 2 large oranges
- 4 lemons
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
Instructions:
Citrus And Spice Pickled Watermelon Rind is an-old school Southern classic.
- Prepare the watermelon rinds by removing the green skin with a y-shaped peeler or a utility knife and cutting away most of the red flesh with a knife, but leaving a thin coat (keep them as thick as possible). Next, cut as much of the rind as possible into 1-inch cubes (obviously many of the pieces will be odd shapes) until you generate 10 cups of rind. Set aside.
- In a large stockpot over medium-low heat, make a brine by combining 3 quarts of water with 1⁄4 cup of the sugar, the salt, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 1 tablespoon of cloves. Stir well until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool. Transfer the watermelon rind to the brine. Place a small plate on top of the rinds to ensure that they are completely covered in water. Soak overnight.
- Drain the rinds in a colander, and rinse them several times with cold water.
- Combine the rinds with enough cold water to cover them in the stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium, then simmer until the pieces are tender but still crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
- Thinly slice the oranges and the lemons. Combine the vinegars, orange slices, lemon slices, and the remaining sugar, cinnamon sticks, and cloves with the 3 remaining cups of water in the stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the rinds, bring back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drain the rinds in a colander, catching the liquid with a bowl, and set them aside. Add the liquid back to the stockpot, bring to a boil over high heat, and reduce until 41⁄2 cups of liquid remain, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the syrup to a metal bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Gently place pint-size canning jars, lids, rings, ladles, tongs, and spoons used for canning into the boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes to sterilize. Carefully transfer everything from the stockpot to a baking sheet in the oven until you’re ready to start canning.
- Remove baking sheet holding the supplies from the oven. Leaving 1⁄2 inch of space at the top, fill the sterilized jars with pieces of watermelon rind, spices, and fruit and then ladle the syrup into each jar. Close the jars with the lids and rings.
- Process in a hot bath for 10 minutes.