Oven-Roasted Watermelon Steak

This Oven Roasted Watermelon Steak is a deliciously savory main course that’s sure to turn heads!

My initial recipe brainstorming sesh for each ingredient of the week typically involves plopping that ingredient into an unexpected recipe (like a sweet beet smoothie or tofu pie or blueberry grilled cheese). So as I pondered and conjured up all the savory ways I could cook up a watermelon for Watermelon Week, an image of a hot watermelon “steak” popped into my brain.

“YESSS!” I thought, “I AM THE MASTER OF ALL THINGS CULINARY”. So I jumped on the google machine to make sure no one else had thought of my fan-freakin-tastic idea.

But it’s 2015 so of course someone had. A high end restaurant near Boston, 51 Lincoln. Cursing them for having somehow read into my future mind and copied my great idea, I reluctantly clicked on an article on boston.com that outlined how the restaurant crafted their watermelon steaks.

I was pleased to find, however, that their method of preparing this culinary oddity was different than the way I’d envisioned my watermelon steaks. But I feel like I owe it to them to try out their recipe. So today I’ll be making these watermelon steaks straight from the recipe of 51 Lincoln. And the next post will be my take on watermelon steaks, straight from my own noggin (Edit: Here it is)!

Okay, okay, so the cooking part. The recipe is simple: watermelon, cream sherry, butter, oil, salt & pepper, feta cheese for garnish.

What does roasted watermelon taste like?

Flavor: Intense. So yea, maybe I misread 1/4 bottle and poured in 1/2 bottle of the cream sherry. Tomayto, Tomahto. But the flavor was quite intense and like nothing I’d ever tasted. A much more mild sweetness, almost like a sweet vegetable.

Texture: Completely unexpected. Watermelon is usually crunchy and snaps when you bend it. But baking the watermelon for this long transformed the texture into a dense, pliable, juicy steak. Think ultra rare steak or a fillet of fish.

Color: B-e-a-utiful. The red just pops, making this steak look almost like a fillet of salmon.

Be sure to try this Pan-Seared Watermelon Steak!

51 Lincoln Oven Roasted Watermelon Steak

This Oven Roasted Watermelon Steak is a deliciously savory main course that’s sure to turn heads!

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Course: Main Dishes, Side Dishes

Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Occasion: 4th of July

Time: 60 minutes or more

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 2 hrs 30 mins

Total: 2 hrs 35 mins

Servings: 4 watermelon steaks

Author: Sarah Bond

5 from 1 vote

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 large seedless watermelon
• 1/4 bottle cream sherry
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

• Cut watermelon into 4 even rectangular slice, about 1 inch thick (rind removed).
• Place slices in a roasting pan and pour cream sherry over them.
• Dot each with butter and sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.
• Brush vegetable oil onto a piece of parchment paper (about the size of the pan), then place over the steaks. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours, or until edges have slightly charred.
• Place steaks on a rimmed baking sheet to cool slightly.
• To serve, spoon juices over each steak. Top with a touch of feta cheese.

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