ENLARGEEasy Watermelon Carving Tips
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Watermelon Salsa Bowl
Materials Needed:
1 Round, seedless watermelon
Dry erase marker
Utility knife or carving knife
Ice cream scoop or other large spoon
Watermelon Black Bean Salsa
For garnish: chips, jalapenos, cilantro and lime
1. Choose a round seedless watermelon.
2. Wash the watermelon and pat dry.
3. Use a dry erase marker to trace the design around the middle of the watermelon.
4. Use a utility knife to carve the design (copy design in photo).
5. Split watermelon in half, and use a scoop to carve out flesh.
6. Choose a flat area of rind on the other watermelon half to trace and carve out the lizard design (copy from image in photo).
7. Fill bowl with e salsa
8. Garnish with lizard and chips, jalapenos, cilantro and lime.
Butterfly Basket
Materials Needed:
1 oblong seeded watermelon
1 chef’s knife
1 paring knife (or you can use the end of a vegetable peeler)
5-10 toothpicks
Butterfly and flower cookie cutters in assorted sizes
1 cantaloupe
1 honeydew
Dry erase marker
Wash and cut off ¼-inch of the bottom of the watermelon so it sits flat.
Using a dry erase marker, draw a wavy handle along the entire length of the watermelon. Connect the two far ends of your drawing along the front and back, outlining a handle and basket edge.
Cut out the design and use the rind you removed to cut decorations of butterflies and flowers.
Hollow out and use this flesh to cut decorative shapes of butterflies and flowers. Also cut out butterfly and flower shapes from the cantaloupe and honeydew melons. Make sure to cut the flesh in thin sheets for the cookie cutters.
Use the toothpicks to secure the cutouts on the handle.
Fill with watermelon chunks and other colorful fruits as desired.
T-Rex Dinosaur
Materials Needed:
1 round seedless watermelon
1 small yellow watermelon or other colorful fruit for slicing
1 channel knife (often found at the top of a vegetable peeler)
20-30 wooden skewers for teeth
toothpicks or hot glue gun
Wash the watermelons and cut ¼-inch slice off the bottom of the larger watermelon for stability.
Use a pen to sketch the open mouth design as seen in the picture. Avoid drawing too far back on the jaw so you leave enough rind at the back of the jaw to support the top of the head.
Cut out mouth section and clear the mouth area of fruit. Use caution to avoid cracking the jaw. Hollow out the top of the head first to cut down on weight. Insert a large square of yellow watermelon inside the mouth to hold it open and support the top of the head. Take care not to over extend the jaw and crack the rind.
Cut the eyebrows and nostrils from a piece of the other rind. The eyebrows will be cut like crescent moons, and the nostrils are cut in the shapes of inverted teardrops. Use the channel knife to create the details on the eyebrows and within the nostrils (see picture for ideas).
Hollow out the eyes with a melon baller, cutting all the way through the outside of the rind. Attach the eyebrows and nostrils to the head with either toothpicks or a glue gun.
With the second melon (or other colorful fruit) and the leftover flesh from the dinosaur head piece, cut triangular shapes that mimic jagged teeth. Stuff these bite-sized pieces into the mouth of the dinosaur, filling in around the large square piece that is holding the mouth open.
Being very careful with the pointed ends, cut the skewers into various lengths and line the top and the bottom of the mouth with them just inside of the rind. Place them in with the pointed end out, using pliers to help securing them in place.
Caution: Pointed skewers are very sharp. Make sure that guests, especially young ones, use a long-handled serving tool to avoid having hands come in contact with the sharp skewers. You may even wish to remove a section of the skewer teeth before serving, so the fruit can more easily be removed.
Shark
Materials Needed:
1 oblong, seeded watermelon
dry erase marker
large knife
smaller utility knife
large spoon
paring knife (you can use the tip of a vegetable peeler)
2 large marbles
toothpicks or wooden skewers
Swedish fish candies for garnish
Wash and dry the watermelon.
Cut off 1/3 of the watermelon at a diagonal angle.
Stand the remaining 2/3 upright on your work surface and use a dry erase marker to draw the mouth line and eye sockets.
Cut out the mouth. Trim back a ½-inch line of the green part of the rind for the teeth area.
Use a large spoon to scoop out the watermelon flesh, leaving
3 inches intact at the base.
Cut out the teeth, using a smaller utility knife.
Use melon baller to cut out the eye sockets that match the size of large marbles. Then use a paring knife to trim the green area around the eyes. Insert marbles.
Use the carved-out rind from the mouth to make the dorsal fin, shape as shown in the picture. Attach the fin using toothpicks.
Fill the mouth with triangle shapes of watermelon, accented with Swedish fish.
