We had a potluck at work before July 4th, and I have a reputation of always making something with bacon in it. (Go figure!) In the past I've done candied bacon, bacon pie, crispy pork belly, etc.
I did some digging around for ideas of how to combine bacon with watermelon and ended up with this little gem: I called them watermelon bacon bites.
I found a nice ripe watermelon and cut it up into cubes. Then I cut the rind up into similar sized squares, and cut off all the flesh and the peel. I made a quick pickle with cider vinegar, fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick and a couple of fresh jalapenos. This was the first thing I ever pickled, but it won't be the last. The pickled rind is awesome by itself. I baked some thick maple bacon, and cut it into squares after it had cooled. Assembly was a matter of stacking up the watermelon cube, a rind pickle, bacon square, then top it with some fresh basil and put a toothpick through it all. They were a huge hit at work! The heat from the pickled rind is tempered nicely with the sugar in the watermelon, and the bacon just adds another dimension to it. Total time to make a whole watermelon's worth was about 2 hrs start to finish. This will be my go-to party dish this summer.
I need to make up some martinis and serve these in them instead of an olive!