Pickled Watermelon Rind

This month I saw all my lovely blogger friends who are Daring Cooks producing cute little jars of apple and peach butter as part of this month's challenge focused on food preservation.  I have to say, this is definitely one month when I wished to be part of Daring Cooks since I love pickling and making preserves!  Even though I am not a member of this adventurous group, I do make my share of challenging and unique recipes, and I thought I would springboard off their challenge and share my latest pickling experience with you and ask for some suggestions.    

I found this recipe for pickled watermelon rind in Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio and I was drawn to it like a magnet.  (Don't ask why because I have no idea.  Maybe it had something to do with my hesitation to throw away all that pretty green rind.  Or, maybe I just like any recipe with the word pickle.)  The recipe seemed simple enough, and I thought it would be an interesting condiment to use with a summer fish dish or possibly in a relish. 

I couldn't resist this. 

I gathered together all the spices used for pickling, and I was excited to see that it also called for cardamom seeds, which seem to be a rarity in most recipes.  Altogether, the aromatics included peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander, fennel, and cardamom, and they smelled wonderful when they were boiling away on the stove.  

As I mentioned before, the recipe was so simple that you basically just get the brine boiling, pour it over the cubed watermelon rind, and let it sit in the fridge for 2 weeks.  For those experienced picklers reading this, I can tell you that I was a little skeptical that the rind would soften enough during the pickling without boiling the watermelon rind itself, but, like any good experiment, I just had to wait and see what the results would be. 

After 2 weeks, I pulled out my jar and tried a bite.  Hmm... It was definitely not totally 'pickled' and still had almost too much crunch to be palatable.   As for flavor, I could definitely taste the depth of the fennel and cardamom, but I figured I would give them another week or so to get the right texture. 


Fast forward to this weekend: Now that it had been a solid 3 weeks since I initially bottled the watermelon rind, I took it out again for a taste test.  I have to say that they still seemed a little tough around the edges, but definitely tasted interesting, and had a perfect flavor profile for fall-inspired dishes.  


So now, I have a few questions for you, my friends.  Those in the know about pickling, can you tell me: Are you supposed to cut off the outermost, waxy green portion of the rind and only eat the whitish flesh?  And as a challenge for creativity: What should I use this watermelon rind for?  A meat dish?  Relish?  Any suggestions?


While I wait for some of your ideas, I will just sneak a few of these pickled treats for a quick crunchy snack.  

Pickled Watermelon Rind
From Think Like a Chef, by Tom Colicchio
 


1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp mustard seed
1 tbsp coriander seed
1 tbsp fennel seed
1 tbsp cardamom seed
1/4 cup sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
3 cups white wine vinegar
Watermelon rind, from half a watermelon, cut into cubes

Combine all the ingredients, except for watermelon, in a pot and add 2 cups additional water; bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, put all the watermelon into a large jar.  Once the brine is boiling, pour it over the watermelon, cover or seal the jar, and place the jar in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks.  Store in the refrigerator and use as needed, or eat for a snack.