What is the best/easiest way to juice a watermelon?

Question

Last year, I had a lot of leftover watermelon from a full-size melon and I pressed it in a strainer to get out the seeds and pulp, but it took forever.

(I then froze the juice in ice trays and stored them in ziploc bags in the freezer - it makes a great margarita in the blender.)

Now that we are getting great local watermelon again, I thought it would be a good use (I've got a huge half a melon taking up space in the fridge)

Are powered juicers any good for this? Would they work with watermelon (obviously cut up with the rind removed) Would I have to remove the seeds manually first?

(I found this ridiculous video of Rener Gracie, BTW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClIepBc7z6s)

Apparently, they claim that the $20 Gracie Juice Bag (http://www.gracieacademy.com/storeitem.asp?r=74903) is more efficient to use on watermelon than the juicer they sell on the site.

Answer 1

The way that i found to juice mine is leave the rind on, mash the melon to bits inside of it, cut a spout in the rind for easy pouring, line my stock pot with chese cloth (although i'm sure a lot of other things would form a great strainer), then just pour the whole thing into the stock pot. I then wrap the cheese cloth up and tie it off with a rubber band. Then you place a plate on top of the cloth and weight it down with a book. Check back every one or two hours to tighten the cheese cloth up and you end up with a lot of juice and none of the nasty bits. I also tend let the contraption sit in the fridge while it does it's work but it will work just fine on a counter top. The set up takes me about ten minutes.

Answer 2

Maybe put it in a blender and then hang it over a bowl in some cheese cloth or push it through a chinoise? The first option would allow you to let it drip overnight and wouldn't require any extra work on your part. I've made an almond soup like that.

Answer 3

I can't remember how I ended up with a watermellon last year, but the approach I took to make a watermellon ice was:

1. Cut the watermellon into slices
2. Cut the watermellon from the rind. (but save the rind for watermellon pickles)
3. Cut the watermellon flesh into cubes
4. Put the cubes a few at a time into a bowl and beat the hell out of them with a potato masher.
5. Pour off what liquid you can
6. Mash a second time, then pour off more liquid.
7. Collect the mashed bits for secondary processing
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 for the rest of the flesh.
9. Use a food mill on the bits collected in step #7, or you coul try the tightening cheese cloth as recommended by sarge_smith (or muslin ... even a clean pillowcase that you don't mind ruining)

Hmm .. come to think of this, I think this might've been the incident where I managed to break my ricer. (the beam that attached to the gave way before the flood crushed. I can't remember if I tried using it for the initial crushing, or just to press out liquids at the end; I do remember that I wasn't having much luck with my food mill for the first pressing, and had to go to the hand masher; I avoided the food processor as I didn't want ground up seeds, and I don't own a chinoise, so couldn't go that route)

Answer 4

The Gracie juice bag is a great option to juice watermelon. I have one and it works great; as fare as the price its only $10.