Cajun Watermelon Relish

By á-47

Makes 3 half pints

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a 12-14 lb. watermelon
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. pickling salt
• 1/2 tea. pickling spice
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tea. crushed red pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chopped assorted red, yellow and/or green bell peppers (2 medium)
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

Preparation

Step 1

Cut pink flesh from watermelon. Refrigerate and save for another use. Using a vegetable peeler, remove green peel from rind; discard peel. Dice rind. Measure 2 cups rind; place in a large bowl.

Combine the 1 cup water and pickling salt; pour over rind. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Pour the rind into a colander set in a sink. Rinse under cold running water; drain well.

Make a spice bag by placing pickling spice on a double thickness of 6" squares of cotton cheesecloth. Tie corners together with kitchen string.

In a 4 qt. stainless steel pot combine pickling spice bag, vinegar, sugar, and crushed red pepper. Heat to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in diced watermelon rind, bell peppers, onion, and jalapeno pepper. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, over medium-low heat about 25 minutes or until rind is transparent. Discard spice bag.

Pack hot relish into hot sterilized half pint jars leavings 1/2" headspace.

Seal and process for 10 minutes.