Watermelon Jerky

Ever wonder what dehydrated watermelon is like? Watermelon jerky is a great way to experience a condensed watermelon flavor, and is a great healthy snack!

For this recipe I used:

• 2 watermelons
• sea salt

Yup, thats it! This snack is super sweet, and treat that disappears quickly!

Step 1: Tools Needed!

For this instructable I used the following kitchen tools:

• A dehydrator, with non-stick sheets, and a timer that shuts the dehydrator off when it's done
• A large sharp knife for chopping
• A good little paring knife for carving off rinds

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Step 2: Cut the Watermelon

Everyone has a different approach to slicing a watermelon. I like to cut off one of the ends and then stand it up on its end, and start quartering the melon.

I cut it in half, then those halves in half - then make 1" slices.

The small pieces can get a little toasted in the dehydrator, so you may need to discard your ends.

Step 3: Remove the Rind, Put on the Trays.

Take the rind of with a nice paring knife, and then use the chopping knife to get slices down to about 1/4" thick.

After they were on the trays, I decided to salt about 1/2 of the the watermelon I sliced up. Salted watermelon was one of my favorite treats as a kid, and I wanted to see what it would taste like once it turned into jerky.

Step 4: Put in the Dehydrator

Each dehydrator is different. I used an Excalibur Dehydrator Model D900SHD, it has 9 trays, and is wicked awesome. I set it to dehydrate the Watermelon for 18 hours at 135ºF.

Try and time it so you can get a good nap in, and dream of great watermelon flavor.

Step 5: Remove and Serve!

The watermelon is ready to be removed from the trays if they separate without sticking. If you have some that are still sticking to the trays, let them go for another few hours.

I separated the melon I had salted, from the sweet stuff - and put it to a taste test. The results came back 50/50 as to which one was better. I liked the salted melon a lot, because the unsalted melon was a bit too sweet.

Experiment with your own flavors, like chile and lime juice! Yum!!!

Comments

[sylviahamilton]

I used one of those cheap, round dehydrators for years (got it at good will). I used it till it just absolutely disintegrated! worked just fine, but I ended up investing in an excalibur dehydrator and now i use it to dehydrate just about Everything! I don't even can any more. Can't wait to try watermelon!

[Xonk61]

I've done this in the last few years, a watermelon is more than I can eat, my fridge is tiny, so I dehydrate the rest. I've given pieces to people who didn't imagine watermelon could be dehydrated, and let them guess what it is. I do mine without the sea salt, so they're very sweet once there's no water to dilute the natural sugars in it.

[lbrewer42]

I wonder if a car dashboard parked in the sun would not serve as a dehydrator for this?

[Xonk61]

keep it covered with a screen to keep bugs off, and leave windows down a little to let moisture out, it should work!

[Bagman2014]

Is it possible with an oven? Or do you need a dehydrator?

[spark master]

Yes you can, leave door ajar with a wooden spoon in the doorway.

[audreyobscura]

I have since tried this with my oven, and it didnt work. :( I think it is because I have a gas oven - maybe try it with an electric one.

[Eacon]

Wow, it indeed looks very flesh-like in dehydrated from!
I too would be interested in a version for the oven. Anyone got any experience? I imagine something like 18 hours at 135ºF would work in a normal oven as well.

[spark master]

the issue with ovens is they are too hot so you turn them on as low as you can yjen put in tasties then close door but put a wooden spoon in doorway so it does not seal, this drops temp and lets out moisture. Sadly one can not keep on the turbo feature as it only goes on when the door is closed. This is how I did it in a gas oven.

An electric oven may be able to have a lower temperature.

Check out ancient editions of The Mother Earth News for plans on build them yourself. You can make very simple ones if need be.

I bought a 40 pound box of apples when I was in my late teens and did the whole box as well as 10 pounds of pear leather, (pear sauce on trays). Acid dips keep color, but brown is fine. My kid borrowed my dehydrator and won't give it back! Still, he back packs a bit so stuff like this is great.

[oldmicah]

Our oven, even when on 'warm' is still closer to 200 degrees. The other challenge you might run into is I don't think that the oven is going to a dry enough environment. I don't have a dehydrator and would love to be wrong on this one.

[KristiO3]

Oven is fine just prop the door open @ the lowest setting. I've even attached a small fan to blow into the crack of the oven but not necessary.

[kmyers6]

mite long as temp 135 and oven has a fan its the fan that is doing the job more than heat.

[KnittersSerendipity]

What if you don’t have a dehydrator? Is there another way to dry fruit?

[jannie.lloyd]

I don't have a dehydrator but do have a poly tunnel that gets very hot. I dry cherries and other home grown fruits in there. If I can get hold of a watermelon I think I'll give it a go.

[wrchael]

I tried watermelon when I first got my dehydrator, I wasn't thrilled with the results but I cut them thinner and tried to made crispy chips. I was curious what the material between the melon and the dehydrator shelf is.

[HowToBen]

Watermelon is 90 percent water.

[kdimock]

i would love to know how to do this without a dehydrator. Any tips?

[auntlala410]

use your oven put it on just warm and it should get to the 135 degrees and then just keep checking on it. the tray maybe some kind of a screen type of tray

[JustDaveN]

An oven at it's lowest temp (usually the "Warm" setting, which is usually about 170) may do the trick.

[Kinnishian]

Crack open the oven to reduce the temperature a bit (depending on it's control system) but moreover to allow moisture to escape.

also check out "alton brown food dehydrator" on google.