Wildbird Suet
Suet is raw beef fat from around the kidneys and loins. Suet is one of the best foods to attract nuthatches, woodpeckers, wrens, titmice, creepers, kinglets, chickadees, thrashers, cardinals and even bluebirds and unfortunately the starlings and squirrels! To discourage the starlings, purchase a suet feeder cage that is covered on all sides but the bottom. Only those birds that can hang upside down will use this feeder.
If the temperature outside is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and warmer, beef fat can turn rancid and melt. There are many commercial suet cakes that can be purchased and some of these are called "no melt", "berry" and "insect" cakes.
How to Render Suet:
You can trim excess fat off beef cuts and store in the freezer until enough fat is achieved or you can purchase beef fat from the grocery store or your nearby butcher.
- Grind the beef fat with a meat grinder or finely chop the fat.
- Heat the fat over a low to medium flame until it’s liquefied.
- Strain by pouring melted suet through a fine cheesecloth.
- Let cool to harden.
- Repeat steps 2-3. If the fat is not rendered twice, the suet will not cake properly.
- Let cool to harden and store in a covered container in the freezer.
Making your own suet cakes is very easy and can be made in less than an hour. You can replace raw beef suet with lard or shortening. Common ingredients for suet cakes are: corn meal, oats, nuts, bird seed, peanut butter, raisins, berries and dried fruit. Experiment with different ingredient variations. The main thing is that your suet cakes have enough suet or lard to hold all your ingredients together.
Recipes
| 1 Pound |
Suet cut in small pieces |
| 1 Cup |
Yellow Cornmeal |
| 1 Cup |
Rolled Oats |
| 1 Cup |
Chunky Peanut Butter |
| 1 Cup |
Mixed Wild Bird Seed |
| 1 Cup |
Hulled Sunflower Seed or Chopped Pecans |
Preparation:
- Melt suet over low flame.
- Stir in ingredients.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
| 1 Cup |
Chunky Peanut Butter |
| 2 Cups |
Cornmeal |
| 2 Cups |
Quick Cook Oats |
| 1 Cup |
Lard or Suet |
| 1/3 Cup |
Sugar |
| 1 Cup |
White Flour |
Preparation:
- Melt lard/suet and peanut butter together and stir.
- Stir the remaining ingredients.
- Pour the mixture into a square container about 1-1/2 inches thick.
- Allow it to cool, then cut it into squares and store in the freezer.
|
| 1/2 Pound |
Suet |
| 1/3 Cup |
Black Oil Sunflower Seed |
| 2/3 Cup |
Mixed Wild Bird Seed |
| 1/8 Cup |
Chopped Peanuts or Chopped Pecans |
| 1/4 Cup |
Raisins |
Preparation:
- Render suet
- While suet is cooling, stir ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Place the suet into the mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
| 1 Cup |
Fresh Suet |
| 1 Cup |
Peanut Butter |
| 3 Cups |
Yellow Cornmeal |
| 1/2 Cup |
Whole Wheat Flour |
Preparation:
- Render suet.
- Over low heat, melt suet and add peanut butter. Stir until well blended.
- Mix ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Pour suet into the bowl mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
| 2 Pounds |
Fresh Ground Suet |
| 1/2 Cup |
Chunky Peanut Butter |
| 1/2 Cup |
Shelled Sunflower Seeds or Chopped Pecans |
Preparation:
- Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat.
- Add peanut butter, stirring until melted and well blended.
- Stir in the sunflower seeds. Mix thoroughly.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
| 3 Cups |
Rendered Suet |
| 1 Cup |
Whole Wheat Bread (dried & crumbled) |
| 1/2 Cup |
Shelled Sunflower Seeds |
| 1/4 Cup |
Millet |
| 1/2 Cup |
Chopped Dried Apples |
Preparation:
- Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Allow the suet to cool until slightly thickened.
- Stir suet into the bowl of mixture. Mix thoroughly.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
| 1 Cup |
Suet |
| 1 Cup |
Peanut Butter |
| 3 Cups |
Cornmeal |
| 1/2 Cup |
White Flour |
Preparation:
- Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat.
- Add peanut butter, stirring until well blended.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Allow the suet to cool until slightly thickened.
- Stir suet into the bowl of mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
| 3 1/2 Cups |
Oatmeal |
| 1 Quart |
Water |
| 1 Pound |
Suet |
| 1 1/2 Ounce Jar |
Peanut Butter |
| 3 1/2 Cups |
Cornmeal |
| 3 1/2 Cups |
Cream of Wheat |
Preparation:
- Melt suet in saucepan over low heat.
- Cook oatmeal in water for 2 minutes and remove from heat.
- Stir in suet and peanut butter and blend.
- Add cornmeal and cream of wheat.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
| 4 1/2 Cups |
Ground Beef Suet |
| 3/4 Cup |
Finely Ground Cracker or Bread Crumbs |
| 1/4 Cup |
White Proso Millet |
| 1/2 Cup |
Hulled Sunflower Seed |
| 1/4 Cup |
Dried and Chopped Berries, Raisins or Currants |
Preparation:
- Melt suet over medium heat.
- Mix together remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Allow suet to cool until lightly thickened.
- Pour into bowl with other ingredients and mix well.
- Pour or pack into molds.
- Refrigerate or freeze until hard.
|
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