Grilled Watermelon

Submitted by januarybride

"This is something you need to try (as a side dish, dessert or incorporated into a salad or salsa). You will be surprised to taste that the watermelon is not quite as sweet as you'd think and it's more "meaty". I first had it in Sweden as a side dish and came home looking for the recipe! You can easily turn this recipe into a grilled watermelon salad by serving each wedge on a bed of baby lettuces or arugula, drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing then sprinkled with a little crumbled feta, blue, or chèvre cheese. Cooking time includes the "resting time" for the watermelon prior to grilling."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 4
• Yields: 8 wedges
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 8 slices seedless watermelon, wedges, 1 . 5 inches thick
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper

directions

1. How to get your watermelon wedges: Cut the watermelon in half, place cut side down on the table, then cut into slices, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut each slice in half, creating two wedges (if your melon is really big, you may need to cut each slice into three wedges). You can leave the rind on or cut it off, totally up to you.
2. Lightly sprinkle the wedges on both sides with the salt. Stand the wedges on their edges on a rack over a sink or pan and let them drain for half an hour.
3. Preheat the grill to high.
4. After the watermelon has drained, rinse each piece under cold running water. Place each piece between two folded paper towels and gently but firmly press to remove excess water. You should stop just when you feel the watermelon begin to crunch.
5. Brush the watermelon lightly on both sides with the olive oil. Grill over high heat until grill marks have formed and the melon is slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
6. Remove from grill and sprinkle with sea salt and a little fresh ground pepper.

Reviews

[Seth C.]

Wow! This really brings out the natural sweetness of the watermelon. Yes, the surface texture is a little slimy, but the fruit maintains a little bit of firmness. The people who say that it's not sweet or lacking in flavor have clearly done something wrong.

 

[threeovens]

Not my cup of tea. The end result was a slimy piece of watermelon that was less sweet and juicy.

 

[Kevin Z.]

No. Just no. We thought we would give this recipe a try based on the reviews. No one in our family could stomach this. It is rare that I try something and feel the need to spit it out, but here we are. If you really feel that you must try grilled watermelon, do yourself a favor and only try the recipe with a single slice so that you aren't left throwing away an entire melon. I really can not state strongly enough just how bad this was.

 

[CookingONTheSide]

I've never grilled watermelon before! Such a nice treat. We really enjoyed it. Made for ZWT8.

 

[Baby Kato]

We both enjoyed this new and different way to serve watermelon. It was quick and easy to make and had a lovely roasted flavor, that was definitely watermelon, but not sweet at all. The olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper gave it a real savory element . A lovely dense texture that was juicy. I agree that this would be wonderful as a base for salsa. Thanks for sharing JanuaryBride. Made for the Fearless Red Dragons - ZWT8 - Australia