Spicy Watermelon “Jerky”? That’s right loves!

By using a dehydrator I mimicked the cured jerky effect. Texture and shape are also a huge factor in getting this right; I cut long, thin strips of delicious watermelon and dried it at 105 degrees for roughly 14 hours. Half way through, when your strips look fairly dry, flip them over so they evenly dehydrate. The strip should come off easily, if it doesn’t then the pieces aren’t ready yet!

Depending on how juicy your watermelon is and how thick the pieces are cut, your strips could take longer or shorter (the smaller the pieces the quicker it dehydrates).

I had about half of a mini watermelon in the house and wasn’t too happy with the taste (it was pretty much tasteless). Dehydration concentrates the sweetness in fruits and absorbs a high percentage of water content. Fruit peels and dehydrated snacks are great on the go and can help you go for fruit instead of a bag of chips.
To get the jerky strip shape I cut the pieces of watermelon slightly thin, but not too much because with dehydration it will shrink! If you want little bite pieces then you will get watermelon candies. To get that jerky texture, pull, feel, and appearance cut your watermelon in slightly triangular shapes like a carrot for example.

I gently rubbed on some chipotle seasoning, lemon, salt and cumin. I wasn’t expecting to make these at the time but happened to be somewhere where I could use a dehydrator so I used the spices that were available to me there.

However, a Jamaican Jerk rub (all spice, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chipotle powder, ground cloves, dried thyme, cayenne pepper and cinnamon is a popular blend. Adding some pureed red bell pepper would be fabulous) would work great! Even adding orange juice, giving the watermelon a darker look if you are interested in getting more of a “meat” look. Of course there is nothing wrong with leaving the pieces as is 😀 Have fun with it! ❤

I’m a huge fan of sweet and spicy! Sometimes in the raw food world it feels difficult at times to get that warming spicy feeling, dehydrating your food for a short period of time can help “warm up” your food. It also intensifies any spices and/or herbs, so it is best to go light with the amount of rub you place on your strips.

If you do not have a dehydrator I do not recommend trying this recipe in your oven because of the bacteria that will grow, as well as the fact that this is a high water content fruit so it would take forever (thus causing bacteria to grow).

This is a fun, light, versatile snack that is still filled with the health benefits of watermelon. If you are not positive about them, here is a link to previous articles I have written with some of the health benefits of consuming watermelon.

Below is a photo of the finished product! So it is so over exposed, my apartment is rather dark 😦

Thank you all so much for taking the time to stop by my website and also making the choice to choose healthier foods!

“The habits that took years to build do not take a day to change.” – Susan Powter.

I hope you all find these strips to be fun, tasty and easy to make and travel with. Much love and raw power 😉 ❤

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