How To: 6 Watermelon Hacks You Have to Try This Summer

Watermelon is the perfect snack for hot temperatures. It's hydrating, crisp, and refreshing, especially when it's chilled. Yet some people aren't content with leaving a good thing alone, which has given us many watermelon-based innovations, some great (vodka-filled watermelons) and some delightfully strange (square watermelons).

Oddly, not everyone goes crazy for this tasty fruit. If you need to reignite your love for Citrullus lanatus (that's watermelon in Latin), then be sure to check out all of these hacks.

#1. Turn a Watermelon into a Keg

Was that sound I just heard your head exploding? Yes, it's true: someone figured out a way to turn a watermelon itself into a dispenser of fruit-laced alcoholic beverages.

Besides a watermelon, you need a large knife, a large spoon, a spigot, a drill, a 3/4 drill bit, and if you're serving adults, vodka. Get step-by-step instructions here.

#2. Make a Watermelon Smoothie with No Mess

Who knew power drills could be so handy when it comes to making food? We've already shown you how to peel mass quantities of potatoes and apples with one—now this guy shows you how to make a smoothie inside the melon for no mess.

The tools required are simplicity itself: a knife, a power drill, a clean wire clothes hanger, and a plastic cup. Via Lifehacker.

#3. Slice Watermelon So You Don't Get Any on Your Face

Is there anything as satisfying as biting into the crisp, sharp point of a triangle-shaped slice of watermelon? Alas, by the time you get to the rind, you have sticky sweet juice all over your face, which tends to be unsightly and attracts bugs, to boot.

Well, CrazyRussianHacker figured out a way to slice watermelons so that problem is a thing of the past. Just cut away the rind at both ends of a single slice of water melon and leave the center piece of rind to have something to hold onto.

#4. Cut It into Cubes & Easy Single-Bite Servings

Want to have watermelon all week long but don't want to deal with cutting it up ever time you want a serving? Don't cut it into slices and then cube it. There's a better, easier way to cut whole thing into cubes in one go.

If you don't want to get juice everywhere, you can learn how to dice it inside the rind.

Wait, there's more! You can also cut an enormous melon into easy single-size servings, too.

Just remember to wash your watermelon before you start cutting. If there are any germs or pesticide residue on the outside, they'll get dragged into the flesh once you make your first cut.

And if you really want to dazzle people, you can also learn how to cut a watermelon into a rose-shaped centerpiece or a fruit-filled baby stroller.

#5. Make Supersized Watermelon Jell-O Shots

Watermelons and booze go together like Bonnie and Clyde. And if there's one thing we all need, it's more convenient ways to get drunk. I mean, holding drinking glasses, what a pain: they get all slippery and show your fingerprints, amiright?

Thank goodness there's a recipe about how make ginormous watermelon jello shots. The only ingredients required are a watermelon and vodka (naturally), red Jell-O, and unflavored gelatin. Get the complete instructions.

#6. Make a Watermelon...Wait for It...Burger

Yes, that's right: according to Mark Bittman, author and New York Times writer, grilling watermelon patties produces something sublime: "Grill a watermelon slice, and it dries out and sobers up, losing its sloppy sweetness, and it takes surprisingly well to savory accompaniments. Add a slice of good melting cheese, a hard roll, a few pickles and a lettuce leaf, and look out: watermelon burgers."

I haven't eaten the burger version, but I can attest to the fact that grilled watermelon by itself is delightful. The caramelized sugars in the fruit contrast wonderfully with the savory and smoky notes from the grill. Grilled pineapple is also terrific. Try it with a brown sugar and butter sauce for true decadence.

Want to make watermelon burgers? You can get the recipe here.