Watermelon Lemonade Recipes

WATERMELON LEMONADE

Steps:

• Peel the watermelon and cut the flesh into large chunks. Purée them in a blender until smooth. Pour the purée through a fine-mesh strainer, and discard the solids.
• Pour the strained watermelon into an ice-cube tray (plastic, not silicon). Freeze until solid.
• Make simple syrup: In a small saucepan combine sugar with 1 cup water, and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and chill.
• In another pot bring 6 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat, and add lemon rinds and pulp. Cover, let steep for 10 minutes and then strain.
• Combine strained liquid in a pitcher with lemon juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Fruit mixture and simple syrup can be refrigerated separately for a couple of days, until needed.)
• Before serving, add simple syrup to taste, and add vodka to make it boozy if you like. Serve in glasses over the watermelon ice cubes.

FRESH WATERMELON LEMONADE RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Cut enough watermelon to produce about 8 cups of cubes; typically 5 pounds with the rind. A quick way to cube watermelon: Cut the whole melon into quarters. For each quarter, score the fruit's flesh in a grid pattern without cutting into the rind. Starting about 1-inch from the top, cut across the length of the melon to produce cubes, carving the bottom layer off the rind.
• Blend half of the watermelon cubes in a blender until smooth.
• Strain the watermelon juice through a fine-mesh strainer to catch the seeds and pulp. Use a spoon to stir the pulp and release more juice. Blend and strain the remaining cubes, then let the watermelon juice continue dripping while you juice the lemons (the pulp will be nearly dry).
• Juice enough lemons to produce about 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice; about 5 or 6 large lemons. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove pulp and seeds.
• In a pitcher, combine 4 cups each of cold water and watermelon juice with 1 cup each of lemon juice and sugar. Stir well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Taste and add more lemon juice, sugar, or water as needed.
• Add ice to the pitcher if serving immediately or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Serve over ice and garnish with watermelon and lemon slices and a sprig of mint.

EASY WATERMELON LEMONADE

Steps:

• Chop the watermelon. Place it in a blender and blend until liquid. Strain the liquid with a fine mesh sieve back into the blender.
• Juice the lemons. Add the lemon juice, sugar and ice and blend again until smooth. Pour into a pitcher. Serve garnished with watermelon and lemon slices, and a few additional ice cubes.

ROSEMARY-INFUSED WATERMELON LEMONADE

Steps:

• Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rosemary, and set aside to steep for 1 hour.
• Place half of the lemon juice, and half of the watermelon into a blender. Strain the rosemary syrup through a mesh strainer into the blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Strain into a pitcher, then puree the remaining lemon juice and watermelon. Stir the lemonade before serving over ice.