Watermelon Sticks with Homemade Chile-Lime Salt

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Cold, dry-patted watermelon batons dusted with a chile-lime salt you grind yourself from toasted guajillo and árbol chiles, oven-dried lime zest and sea salt. It tastes brighter and smokier than anything from a shaker, and the optional 5-minute hibiscus chamoy drizzle turns a fruit plate into a proper snack.

Ingredients

• 3 limes, zested (zest only; save juice for serving)
• 2 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 dried chile de árbol, stemmed (2 if you like real heat)
• 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon citric acid or 1 teaspoon unsweetened lemonade drink powder (optional, for tang)

• 1 small seedless watermelon (about 6 lb), well chilled
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons dried hibiscus flowers (flor de jamaica) or 1 hibiscus tea bag
• 3 tablespoons apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon chile-lime salt (from above)
• 1 pinch kosher salt

Instructions

1. Dry the lime zest: heat the oven to 200°F. Spread the zest of 3 limes in a thin layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once, until it feels dry and crumbles between your fingers. (Microwave shortcut: spread on a plate and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between, for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes.) Let cool completely.
2. Toast the chiles: tear the guajillos into flat pieces. Set a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the guajillo pieces and the árbol 30 to 45 seconds per side, pressing with a spatula, until they smell nutty and puff slightly. Do not let them darken or blacken — burnt chile turns the whole batch bitter. Cool on a plate 5 minutes; they should snap crisply.
3. Grind the salt: break the cooled chiles into a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder and pulse to a coarse powder, 20 to 30 seconds. Add the dried lime zest, sea salt, sugar and citric acid, and pulse 10 to 15 more seconds until it looks like a fine brick-red dust. Sift through a fine-mesh strainer, regrinding any big flakes. Makes about 1/3 cup.
4. Make the chamoy drizzle if using: bring the water and hibiscus to a simmer in a small saucepan, cover, and steep off the heat 5 minutes. Strain out the flowers, return the liquid to the pan with the apricot preserves, and simmer over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes until syrupy and reduced by about half. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon chile-lime salt and a pinch of kosher salt. Cool to room temperature; it will thicken as it sits.
5. Cut the watermelon: trim off the top and bottom so it sits flat, then cut it into quarters through the poles. Slice each quarter into 1-inch-thick planks, then cut the planks into sticks about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long. Trim the rind off entirely, or leave a 1/2-inch strip of green at the base as a handle.
6. Chill and dry: spread the sticks on a paper towel-lined sheet pan and refrigerate at least 20 minutes (or freeze 8 to 10 minutes) so they are ice-cold and firm. Just before serving, blot the tops and sides dry with fresh paper towels — dry fruit is what keeps the salt from melting into pink slush.
7. Dress and serve: arrange the sticks on a platter, sprinkle the lime juice over them, then dust generously with the chile-lime salt from about 10 inches above so it lands evenly. Zigzag the chamoy over the top if using, and serve immediately with lime wedges and the extra salt on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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