Watermelon Pickles

Watermelon pickles are something I’ve wanted to make for a long time. I’ve heard people talk about them. I always figured there had to be something I could do with the rinds leftover from my watermelons. Watermelon pickles are just like regular ole cucumber pickles but with a great twist. They’re good and crunchy. All those years of seeing these and I wait this long to finally make them. What was I thinking?

Watermelon Pickles

Sweet Heat

This particular recipe makes watermelon pickles that are sweet at the start and spicy at the end. You could eat them right out of the jar or even put them on hot dogs or hamburgers for something totally different.

I’m contemplating chopping a few of these watermelon pickles and making a relish or even watermelon pico de gallo. I think it’d come out delicious. The flavor balance is perfect, not overly sweet or spicy. The pickling spice is strong, which I like a lot, but if you’re not such a fan of the cloves in it you might want to use slightly less or remove some of them before adding to the brine.

Love pickles but in a hurry? Try my quick fix spicy pickles. For a delicious easy pickled salad, try my refrigerator cucumber salad.

Watermelon Pickles
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5 from 1 vote

Watermelon Pickles

Watermelon pickles are just like regular ole cucumber pickles. They’re good and crunchy.
Course Side
Cuisine American
Keyword pickles, watermelon
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 30 minutes
Servings 2 pints
Calories 532kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Blanch the watermelon rind by bringing 4 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of salt to a boil in a pot over high heat. Stir until the salt dissolves.
  • Add the watermelon rind. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue simmering until just starting to turn tender (you want them to still be a bit crispy), about 5 minutes.
  • Skim off any fat and drain. Transfer to a large bowl.
  • Make the brine by bringing the remaining 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon salt, vinegar, sugar, pickling spice, and red pepper (if using) to a boil in saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
  • Pour the brine over the watermelon rind.
  • Cover with a plate to keep the rind submerged and let cool to room temperature.
  • Transfer to glass jars, cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.
  • The pickles will keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
  • Combine and store: Pour the hot brine over the rind. Use a small plate or a Ziplock bag partially filled with water (I use the Ziplock bag) to hold the rind under the brine. Let cool to room temperature. Transfer the rind and brine into clean glass jars (I use Mason jars), cover and chill before serving. Keep refrigerated – they’ll keep several months.

Nutrition

Calories: 532kcal | Carbohydrates: 129g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 10512mg | Potassium: 538mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 119g | Vitamin A: 1762IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Jarred Grilled Pickles

Want to surprise everyone at your next picnic or get-together? Bring jarred grilled pickles. Everyone will want to know how you did it. You don’t have to admit how easy it was, unless you really want to. The pickles do get a little char flavor, but not much. They still taste like, well, dill pickles, but when you bite into them they have just slightly less crunch. The grilled red onions do add a nice light onion flavor and bite.

Jarred Grilled Pickles

What Pickles Should Be

These jarred grilled pickles are good for 5 days. My guess is that you won’t have to worry about rushing to eat them on the last day that they’re good. And don’t feel like you have to grill only spears. Sliced pickles or even whole pickles can be grilled just as well. If you don’t want to grill the pickles but still want a hint of grilled flavor, just grill some red onion and then add that to a jar of pickles and refrigerate overnight. You’ll get that hint of smoke but the pickles themselves will be totally crispy.

If you can’t fit all of the pickles back into the original jar just grab some Mason jars instead.

If that’s enough, try pickling hot dogs too. They’re definitely different. And good!

Jarred Grilled Pickles
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5 from 1 vote

Jarred Grilled Pickles

Want to surprise everyone at your next picnic or get-together? Bring a jar of grilled pickles. Everyone will want to know how you did it.
Course Side or Appetizer
Cuisine American
Keyword grilled, pickles
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 1 jar
Calories 56kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 26 ounce dill pickle spears
  • 1 red onion cut into 8 small wedges (you can keep the root end on to help keep the onion wedges together)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  • Drain the brine from the jar into a large bowl.
  • Remove the pickles and lay onto a few sheets of paper towels. Dab with the paper towels to dry as well as you can.
  • Transfer the pickles to another large bowl.
  • Add the onion and drizzle with the oil. Toss gently to coat.
  • Fire up your grill.
  • Place pickles and onions onto the grill and grill on all sides until you get grill marks.
  • Remove and let cool slightly before returning pickles to the jar.
  • Add the onions and the reserved brine.
  • Seal and refrigerate until ready to use within 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 56kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 138mg | Potassium: 165mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

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Nashville Hot Pickles

Ever since I made a crazy good batch of Nashville Hot Chicken I’ve been jonesin’ for that same great hot crunchy experience on other foods. Like fried pickles. Making these Nashville Hot Pickles was easy, and boy are they packed with a nice kick! I didn’t go the mild route with these, that’s for sure. And to make sure I kept the burn going I served the pickles with a habanero ranch sauce for dipping. If you like spicy, then you’ve come to the right place!

Nashville Hot Pickles

Crunchy And Spicy Perfection

You’re going to see other great dishes like this one for Nashville Hot Pickles here on Life’s A Tomato. I love that great crunchy breading and that fiery hot seasoning. Next up? I’m thinking chicken fingers! Or maybe nuggets! And maybe even chicken wings.

If I’m cooking for a crowd, I’ll break out my big deep fryer. But, if it’s just the two of us, I’ll fire up my Fry Daddy fryer. It’s the perfect size for both of us. It fries everything perfectly. And as an added bonus, it doesn’t use a lot of oil, which saves me money.

I get out my big deep fryer when it’s time to fry a large batch of food. It comes to temperature quickly and it maintains that temperature perfectly. It has a built-in oil filter and storage unit so I can re-use the oil several times.

Also try my jalapeno bottle caps and my and my copycat of Hooter’s fried pickles.

Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Nashville Hot Pickles

Making these Nashville Hot Pickles was easy, and boy are they packed with a nice kick! I didn’t go the mild route with these, that’s for sure.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Keyword deep-fried, pickles, spicy
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 16
Calories 91kcal
Author Mike

Ingredients

For the dip

  • 1 cup milk or buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce

For the dredge

For frying

For the spicy coating

For serving

Instructions

For the dip

  • Whisk together the milk, eggs and hot sauce in a pie pan or shallow bowl.

For the dredge

  • Whisk together the flour and salt in a pie pan or shallow bowl.

For frying

  • Heat a few inches of oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 325 F.
  • Working in batches, dredge the pickles in the flour. Shake off excess.
  • Dip pickles into the milk mixture. Shake off the excess.
  • Return the pickles to the flour and dredge again. Shake off excess.
  • Transfer pickles to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
  • Place on a rack to cool and drain.

For the spicy coating

  • When you’re done frying the pickles, ladle 1/3 cup of the hot oil into a small sauce pan and whisk in the spicy coating ingredients.
  • Brush mixture over the pickles. The more you brush on, the hotter it’ll be.

Nutrition

Calories: 91kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 578mg | Potassium: 115mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 357IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.