Hickory Smoked Watermelon

I love watermelon! ❤️ 🍉

As a child I think it was probably my favourite fruit to have during the hot summer months. It was juicy, quenching, messy bites of deliciousness and I always looked forward to it.

Lately, I've been experimenting with a variety of recipes and I happen to stumble upon a recipe that really captured my attention! I couldn't believe what I was looking at and how much this watermelon looked like an ham that you'd serve at your Easter or Christmas dinner.

After reading through it a few times as it's a little intimidating, I decided to give it a try. Although the flavour was incredible, because it was just my husband and I to feed, I used a small watermelon and it dehydrated a bit more then I expected but was so delicious, it really didn't matter how flat it was.

These are the before and after pics of the first attempt with a small watermelon.

Before the oven after being marinated 24 hours in the fridge uncovered.

This is plated for our dinner and as I said it was flat 😂 but definitely delicious and the only reason I decided to try it again!!

I hate wasting money on things especially food so if it wasn't worth the money, I wouldn't have bothered.

May 21, 2023

I'm giving the recipe another attempt and so far so good!!

This is the full size watermelon after being marinated 24 hours uncovered in the fridge!

Now I will be adding my recipe here as a guideline that will hopefully make it a little easier to follow, if you decide to try it. I will also be adding the original recipe that I used as a guide to first make the Hickory Smoked Watermelon Ham, at the end for you to reference with my recipe. ❤️

Please keep in mind that this will always be better marinated overnight but 12 hours at the least. Also use a full size watermelon!!

Step 1

Prepping and Marinading

Cut the ends of your watermelon then flip it onto the flattest side and use a sharp knife to remove the peel.

Continue to carefully carve the white section until you start seeing the watermelon fruit. Your watermelon should look similar to this.

Now you're going to take your knife and create a diagonal pattern cutting about an inch into the top of the watermelon to creat a pattern.

In a medium bowl combine the following ingredients to create your "rub" to season the watermelon.

• 1/2 cup of pink salt

• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon of chili powder

• 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

• 1-½ teaspoon of black pepper

• 2 teaspoon of garlic powder

• 2 teaspoon of onion powder

Blend everything together well and cover the watermelon evenly with the entire mixture.

Now you're going to place the watermelon on a rack that will also be used for baking it later. I had a metal frying basket that I no longer have the deep fryer for, so I placed the watermelon on top after pushing it down a little to help stabilize the weight of the watermelon. Place a baking sheet under it to catch the moisture from the watermelon as it marinates in the fridge.

Now going to place it in the fridge and marinade for at least 12 hours according to the original instructions on the recipe, I did mine for 24 hours.

Before beginning to bake the watermelon make sure to soak 3 cups of hickory wood chips in a bowl or container with cold water for at least an hour!!

Now you're ready to start baking your watermelon!!

Get a large roasting pan and add the hickory wood chips and the water to the bottom of the pan.

Step 2

Cooking the watermelon

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the watermelon from the fridge carefully and transfer the watermelon and rack into the roasting pan with the hickory mixture.

Cover the pan fully with aluminum foil to avoid smoke escaping and place the roasting pan on a baking sheet for support if required.

Place in preheated oven at 450 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 250°F and continue to slow roast the watermelon for 3 hours, then remove the foil and slow roast for another 3 hours.

This should be similar to the results after removing from the oven!!

Allow to cook a few minutes then slice and serve.

Darn Good Stuff!!

This is the original recipe that I used to modify mine.

https://jangorecipes.com/smoked-watermelon-ham-recipe/