A few years ago, I featured a recipe for something called a “watermelon steak.” It’s an appetizer served at a Boston area restaurant called 51 Lincoln and it’s made by taking thick pieces of watermelon and roasting them in a 350 degree oven for 2 ½ hours. The result is something with a very unusual texture and taste.
As a lover of both watermelon and steak, I had to give this recipe a shot. Below is a photo journal of my efforts to recreate this delicacy. Bon appétit!
I began my culinary adventure with a regular seedless watermelon. All cleaned up and ready for carving.
From the watermelon, I carved two “steaks,” each approximately one inch thick. The watermelon was placed in a roasting pan with a little butter in the pan and on each piece. I also sprinkled them with salt and pepper. The original recipe called for cream sherry to be poured over the watermelon, but I skipped that step because I’m lazy and didn’t feel like buying cream sherry.
The watermelon was covered with a piece of parchment paper, which was oiled with vegetable oil and cut to the size of the roasting pan. The pan was then covered tightly with foil and placed into a 350 degree oven for 2 hours.
After the agonizingly long wait was over, the watermelon steaks were placed on a baking sheet to cool before being transferred to a plate and topped with a balsamic vinegar reduction (mainly because it sounded fancy).
How’d they taste? They were … interesting. The taste itself was good. Very sweet and watermelon-like. For me, the biggest obstacle was the temperature (eating hot watermelon is something I’m not used to) and texture (soft on the outside with a little firmness inside – like really tender raw meat). If you’re a watermelon lover who likes trying new things, you should give it a shot. Just make sure you have some cold watermelon in the fridge to satisfy your cravings just in case the watermelon steak doesn’t do the trick.