Throw This Summer Fruit In The Oven For Unexpectedly Meaty Results
We swear that no other singular food sings the song of summer's hot days quite like watermelon. Now that you know how to cut watermelon sticks for easy snacking, you probably think that you've achieved the epitome of enjoyment when it comes to this popular fruit ... well, think again. We're here to blow your mind with an unconventional suggestion so cool and so tasty that it'll change the way you look at watermelon. What you're gonna do is roast it. Yes, really.
When you roast watermelon in the oven and smother it with savory ingredients, you achieve a curious, delicious result that puts one in mind of the best meat substitutes. It's rich and astonishingly meaty. Of course, watermelon lacks the protein to serve as a truly filling main dish, but a watermelon "roast" is an intriguing, yummy way to present the fruit at your summer cookouts.
Anyone who's ever added salt to watermelon for juicy results knows that watermelon's sweetness actually plays really well with savory flavors. We're going to up that knowledge to the nth level by scoring that melon and dousing it in all kinds of good stuff — olive oil, herbs, garlic — and treating it like a nice beef roast, cooking it low and slow after an initial blast of heat to sear it. Some restaurants have really given watermelon the beefy treatment, brining and smoking the melon to balance its sweetness, but this method is adaptable to many different time frames and palates.
A few tips and tricks for more successful roast watermelon
One criticism of roasting a whole watermelon is that the exterior gets savory and textured, while the inside can stay crisp and fruity. The way to counteract that is to think "surface area." Cutting a smaller watermelon in half and scoring it deeply will really allow the flavors to penetrate; another idea is to look up how to cube watermelon efficiently and roast chunks so that all those savory flavors can really get into the flesh. If you've grilled watermelon, you'll be familiar with some of the flavors that social media recommends for pairing with your "roast:" funky feta or goat cheese, fresh thyme leaves from your garden, lemon juice, vinegar, and lashings of black pepper. To get a great sear on the outside, don't be afraid to treat that fruit just like a chuck roast and smother the whole thing in butter.
A discussion on Quora addressed some common questions about watermelon "steak" or "roast." Notably, while the texture is meaty, it does not, in fact, taste like meat, a la other meat substitutes like jackfruit. One commenter waxed almost philosophical on the topic: "It dehydrates, not totally, it's still moist. But the flesh compacts and becomes meatier. It's not like beef though. Not like steak. It's still watermelon. But more so. As in the pictures, it's good as a pseudo carpaccio. Not just a gimmick, but actually worth doing." Color us convinced. Roasted watermelon isn't going to steal main-dish status from your chuck steak or Impossible burger, but it is an intriguing dish all its own, and one that inspires our culinary creativity.
@victoriaexperiences In the oven, foil wrapped with no holes lower temp 350-400 for 50 minutes. If you like sesame oil and cocoaminos you'll like it! It would pair well with avocado toast, rice, broccoli or anything savory :)