A New York City restaurant is serving up whole smoked watermelon ham. Yes, you read that correctly: watermelon ham. It’s watermelon smoked like a meat—and the internet is troubled by it.
The plant-based and vegan-friendly dish takes about four to six days to prepare and is only available for patrons who order it at least a week in advance, BuzzFeed reports.
“We’re famous for our smoked meats, and we wanted some more vegan and vegetarian options,” William Horowitz, chef and owner of Ducks Eatery, explains in a video interview with Food Insider. “We simply do the same thing that we’ve been doing for thousands of years to meats, but we do it to a melon.”
The recipe for preparing watermelon ham looks almost identical to that of any typical ham. The watermelon is soaked in a mixture of coriander, salt, and oregano, then left to dry and smoke for half a day. Ash is used to give the melon a “skin-like” texture, and then the melon is soaked in its own juices before serving.
“We do all these techniques that might seem really strange, but they’re actually pretty normal. And they’re delicious,” Horowitz says.