Pickled Watermelon Rind! (Sweet` Spicy` and Crunchy)

Pickled Watermelon Rind! (Sweet, Spicy, and Crunchy) Cut the end caps off a small watermelon then stand it up on end. Cut slices straight down about 2 inches wide.

Remove the red watermelon from each slice leaving a 1/8 inch of red on the rind.

Take a potato peeler and cut off all the outer green skin.

Cut the strips in to 1/2 inch cubes and put them in a sterilized quart or pint jars leaving a good inch head space at the top.

Make the brine below....

Brine:

1 cup of water

1 & 1/2 cups of (white) or (apple cider) vinegar

1 & 1/2 cups of white sugar (maybe 2 cups)

1 tsp. whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

3 tbsp. Kosher salt (You can also add 2 tsp. coriander seeds) (I forgot) (Apple Cider Vinegar has a bit more bite and the white vinegar is a bit smoother... especially when you use 2 cups of sugar.)

Mix and bring to a boil and simmer for one minute...

Remove from the heat and let cool for a couple minutes then add 1 cup of ice cubes and stir until they are gone.

I only used 1 cup of water at the top of the recipe because this one cup of ice will melt down to 1/2 water and help cool the brine to warm.

Pour the still very warm (not hot) brine over the cubed rind and twist the lids on pretty snug.

Now turn the jars upside down and store in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 days....

how ever long you can stand it... but they are really good starting the next day.

Keep them in the refrigerator but... because of the salt and vinegar they will last 3 or 4 weeks easy! (They will be gone before that!) Enjoy!