Let them (the birds) eat (suet) cake! Photo & Recipe

15 years ago

My first batch of home made suet cakes is cooling in the kitchen. The color difference between the pan and smaller holder/mold is because of the flash. As you can see, the "Purple Martins" can't wait to try it. Recipe below photo.

I'm no longer buying "suet" cakes that are 90% sunflower seed, in the shell, and big chunks of heavy corn. I want "suet" cakes for my winter bird feeding.

I made two batches of this recipe; the first batch made a rather thin layer in the baking pan. The double batch may be a bit thick to fit in the smaller suet cages, but I'll make it work.

Let Them Eat Carol's Cake!

1 lb. lard (About 2 and 1/4 cups)

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of HULLED sunflower seed

1 cup of steel-cut Irish oats (or any oats)

1/2 cup of cornmeal

1 cup of stone-ground whole wheat flour

Heat lard over medium heat until partially melted.

Stir in sugar, continue to heat lard/sugar mix, and stir. (My woodpeckers love the hummingbird nectar, so I added sugar for their sweet tooth.) Do not let it get too hot. Lard can flash into flame.

Once the lard is melted and the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.

Add peanut butter and stir until it's melted.

In a large bowl, mix sunflower seed, oats, cornmeal and flour until combined.

Slowly pour in the liquid lard/sugar/peanut butter mixture and stir until smooth. You may have to press lumps of the meal with a big spoon to get it all blended.

Pour into molds, or a 9x12 baking pan.

Let the cake cool and harden. Then cut into the sizes/shapes you need, wrap in Saran wrap and freeze until needed.

You can add different ingredients, change the amounts, mix and match, and make the suet cake that "suets" your birds. The 'Net is loaded with recipes.

My next batch will be made with beef suet. I have to research and learn if chickadee-dee-dees and nuthatches like raisins. If so, I'm make a batch with ground raisins and apple bits mixed in.

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Comments (17)

Linda Wayman
15 years ago
Thnks Caroline. I bought some ingredients last year to make some, but just could not find time to do so. I have time this year and now I don't even have to look up my recipe. :) I have everything but the sunflower seeds.
Thanks again.

Linda
mrsmarv
15 years ago
We've been making our own suet for about 10 years. Our recipe is:

2 lbs. lard, melted (we use the microwave)

Once the lard is melted, we pour it into a line 9"x13" baking pan (we line it with freezer paper - waxy side up). We then stir in:

approx. 3 cups bird seed
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup cornmeal

We freeze it until hard, remove it from the pan, cut into 8 squares, wrap in aluminum foil and keep in the freezer until ready to use.
Our 'friends' love it...so do the squirrels.
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Anyone have any luck feeding your yard birds suet?
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Comments (12)
Tony, I'm with you. I have never had any luck with suet of any type or recipe in Florida. I DO think you are more likely to succeed with it in cooler weather because the birds need a much higher energy type food then. And also because many types of suet cakes and mixtures spoil quickly in the heat. But even in winter, my woodpeckers prefer to eat sunflower seeds directly from the tray feeder, and they ALL ignore the suet. I do buy the big SEED cakes (BirdOla, etc) that just look like lots of seeds, peanuts and fruit somehow molded into a large square. You probably know what I mean...there's no suet that you can see, just the seeds & fruit bits. I put that in a wire holder designed just for it, and the goldfinches will eat from that, until it gets too small for their short beaks to reach it through the wire. They still drop shells and a little bit of seed under the feeder, but they can't fling it all over while looking for something they like, so it's much less messy. My goldfinches finally showed up about 3 weeks ago, and I've had as many as 30 in the yard at once. There are at least 4 that are almost completely yellow and black now. Just gorgeous. I haven't seen any buntings or grosbeaks this year, though. And the chipping sparrows left right when the goldfinches showed up. But I'm happy...I have my cardinals back, my white-winged doves are here, and my goldfinches. My seed-eating catbird and my seed-eating Myrtle warbler both left, after stuffing themselves for several weeks. (They obviously didn't get the memo telling them they prefer insects and fruit.) I'm really happy now that the squirrels can't seem to reach the feeders any more. (Still knocking wood, though.) Try one of the big seed cakes and see if you like it! Marcia
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I thought I posted here but maybe I closed out before it was finalized or something. I have heard that the salt in bacon is not good for the birds. But I don't know if it's true. I made up a batch today, and put some out in the bird feeder that is made from the bottom part of an old stove-top rotisserie. I pressed it down into the tray so I hope this discourages the squirrel. I made it with chicken fat so I hope that's not like cannibalism or anything for the birds. The dog now wants to go outside. I let him out for a little while and he went and stood under the bird feeder. Such a pig-dog. Thanks for that recipe! Is it supposed to be a little on the crumbley side? Maybe that is just because I made it with chicken fat, which seems to have a lower melting point than something like lard or beef fat. From now on I'll save the fat that drains off when we cook hamburgers, or what I skim off beef broth. Gosh, I just threw some away about a month ago. Wish I'd kept it now.
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suet recipe with crisco instead of lard?
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Comments (32)
Hi, Thank you Lisa for recommending sialis.org. They have a LOT of great suet recipes. This is what they say about lard vs. vegetable shortening: "(Beef or Sheep) Suet vs. (Pig) Lard vs. Vegetable Shortening (Crisco, etc.): All work in suet recipes, as long as you adjust the dry ingredients (e.g., flour) to keep the texture crumbly. Vegetable shortening has a longer shelf life. Suet in its raw form should be avoided. Beef suet may turn rancid when temperatures exceed 70 degrees. When melted and clarified, beef suet is called "tallow." Tallow is less likely to go rancid over time; however it is not easily digested by birds because it is high in saturated fats. Some birders are concerned about the health impact of using vegetable shortening. * A nutritionist at the San Diego Zoo indicated that there is no health risk associated specifically with vegetable oil. * Dr. Sean Pampreen, an avian vet in Marlborough, CT, indicated he did not think that vegetable shortening used as a binder in suet (which is only a supplemental food for wild birds) would cause digestive problems, especially since sunflower, millet and peanut are about 45-56% oil. * Bill Whittaker of Four Nature's Keepers says saturated fats (such as in suet) are more difficult/require more energy for birds to digest than unsaturated fats (such as in vegetable shortening). They also found in field tests that after a familiarization period, birds prefer vegetable shortening. * Dr. Kirk Klasing, Professor of Avian Nutrition at UC Davis, said that very high amounts of fatty acids are difficult to emulsify by the bile, lowering digestibility. Adding a source of unsaturated fats, such as vegetable oil or lard, improves digestibility (e.g., 80% tallow, 20% vegetable oil or lard is a good combination - you can adjust the proportions to give the melting point desired). Peanut butter also works to increase digestibility of tallow because it is high in unsaturated fats. He was not aware of any evidence for a laxative effect of vegetable oil. Like tallow, vegetable shortening is solid at room temperatures. However, the hydrogenation used to make shortening results in lots of trans fatty acids. Though we don't know for sure, it is likely that the trans fatty acids are less healthy than "natural" cis fatty acids (unhydrogenated oils). In chickens, high levels of trans fatty acids deplete antioxidants in the tissues. It would be best to avoid high levels of vegetable shortening. * Crisco does make a zero-trans-fat shortening (in a green container.) * Another alternative is soybean shortening without additives, at as low a melting temperature (less saturation) as you can use to make an acceptable food. In terms of protein content, suet has about 0.4 grams of protein/oz. in it; lard and vegetable shortening have none. Both suet and vegetable shortening have about the same amount of calories and fat content. Beef suet has more saturated fat which may be harder to digest. JL Peterson found bluebirds preferred recipes made with suet. A friend reported bluebirds in her area preferred Crisco-based suets. Crisco does offer a zero-trans fat product. If you're concerned about using either of these ingredients, you can replace them with extra peanut butter until the mixture reaches the desired consistency." So, I will definitely be using vegetable shortening, I'm going to see if they have an organic version at the health food store. It just doesn't feel right to me to help out some animals by feeding them other animals. I'm also going to use raw peanuts and seeds instead of commercial peanut butter, like the birds would naturally eat. Cooking food kills all the enzymes which are so necessary for cells to be able to use the nutrients in the food. Here's the page where I got this info: http://www.sialis.org/suet.htm#crisco Best wishes, fellow bird lovers! April Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis info on crisco/vegetarian suet
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Comments (11)
Since bacon is a brined meat I doubt you will ever find unsalted bacon except for what is sold as fresh fatback. You can remove much of the salt by putting in a pan of water and heating. Stir while melting. This will disolve some of the salt in the rendered grease into the water. Let the solution set in a cool place to firm the fat. Remove the fat cake that should form on the top and throw away the water. This can be repeated several times to remove additional salt. If your bacon fat is fresh you can dice up potatoes and cook in the water. This is a method that is used by cooks to reduce oversalted dishes. If the bacon fat is fresh the potatoes can be eaten or thrown away. Only eat if the bacon fat is VERY fresh.
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bunny_lover
15 years ago
I may try yours Caroline. I stopped using the commercial suet cakes because they added so many weeds underneeth the feeder. I have been giving the birds the balck oil sunflower seeds instead of the seed with all the fillers.

I have alot of bacon grease saved. Could I use that instead of the lard?
lydia1959
15 years ago
Your recipe sounds a lot like mine Caroline. I put a cake out daily for my birds (mostly woodpeckers, titmice, chickadees, etc.).. it won't melt unless temps get up in the 100's so I use it all summer too.

Here's my recipe:
1 lb. lard
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups regular oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour

I melt the lard and peanut butter together on low heat, then mix in the dry ingredients and pour into a wax lined cake pan. If I have raisins or nuts I sometimes add them in too.

Bunny Lover - I think the bacon grease would go bad? I don't know though maybe someone else can answer your question.
ruthieg__tx
15 years ago
Thank you all so much...I can't wait to try these.
glenda_al
15 years ago
Mother used to do something like this: Simply take a mesh cheese bag or mess onion bag, then use bacon grease or ground beef grease, let the grease cool down slightly and then add nuts, birdseed or anything you can think of that birds will enjoy. Form the grease into a ball as it cools, place the grease ball in the mesh bag and cool in the refrigerator. Hang suet bag in a tree for the birds to enjoy.
caroline94535
Original Author
15 years ago
Wow! There's a lot of "suet chefs" here!

Linda...it took me longer to clean up the oily measuring cups and utensils than it did to make the suet cakes. Show us your cakes when they're finished.

Mrs. Marv...That's a brillant idea to line the baking dish with wax paper. I'll be doing that next time. I woke up this morning thinking about to warm the bottom of the pan to get the cakes out, without melting the lard too much. Problem (for next time) solved!

Bunny Lover...I found several recipes on the 'net that used bacon grease. For winter feeding I think they'd be fine. I'm using beef suet in my next batch. I didn't have any on hand, and I did have lard so used it.

I'm putting a link below to a Blue Bird site; they have many, many recipes for variations of suet cake. They also have more "crumbly" variations to feed in a pan to the bluebirds.

Glenda...Howdy girlfriend! The onion bags are great to use to hold suet balls, if you have the old fiber ones. Don't use the one made out of plastic. The birds can tangle themselves up in it and not be able to break or peck free. That's something I just read while searching for recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plethora of suet recipes and Blue Bird info
IndianaKat
15 years ago
I've made my own suet cakes for a long time. Bunny, like Caroline said, the Sialis site has many recipes...lots use bacon grease. I use bacon grease in the winter suet and the birds go nuts over it....they absolutely love it. Just made a fresh batch today.......

~Kathy~
alisande
15 years ago
I'm surprised the recipes use lard, not suet. I guess real suet can be hard to find these days.

Love those blackbirds in the kitchen!
glenda_al
15 years ago
Caroline, I'm sure back THEN they didn't make the plastic onion, etc bags.

Mother was a bird lover, so I know IF there were plastic ones, she would not have used.

Always had her binoculars and bird book handy for bird viewing :o)
caroline94535
Original Author
15 years ago
Alisande From the recipes I've researced you can use pork lard, bacon grease, or beef suet. I'm getting my beef suet from the local butcher. It will be a combo of the "real" kidney suet and regular beef fat trimmings.

I'm going to render it before making the cakes. From what I understand it's not necessary to render it, but it does make the cakes last longer if you do.
caroline94535
Original Author
15 years ago
Glenda...I'm sorry; I didn't intend for the "onion bag suggestion" come across wrong. I know your Mom's were the fiber ones. I've used them, too.

I just wanted to share what I'd read about the new onion bags. I was surprised to learn they're made of plastic now. I buy my onions loose, and hadn't really paid attention to how the newer bags are made.

I have noticed plastic "burlap" bags at the feed store. That really blew my mind.

I think you're just about the sweetest person sitting at the table. I always look for your posts and responses. I hope you know I'd never intentionally say anything to hurt your feelings. It wasn't meant that way...

Big hugs!
nodakgal
15 years ago
Wow thanks for the recipe!
I am going to check with my Uncle Gene in the nursing home and see if he has a suet holder.
glenda_al
15 years ago
Oh, I definitely didn't take you wrong. I just said I knew that WHEN mother was living and fed the birds, that plastic of that sort was not in existence.

Will never forget, one Thanksgiving, mother had a short, very short clothes line between two fairly new trees. She hung the "slop bucket" on that line, filled with leftovers and watched a possum climb into that bucket to have a feast!
IndianaKat
15 years ago
Oh Glenda...what a memory you brought back. My Mother did the same thing. She had a hook attached to the old elm tree out back and hung a bucket on it to feed "the woods critters". We loved watching out the window at dusk to see who would show up for dinner from the bucket....

~Kathy~
sooey
15 years ago
Hi Kids,

I made my own suet cakes for the first time last winter. I used the raw suet from the grocery, melted down in a pan over a low heat on the stove. I added a bunch of stuff, thistle seed, peanut butter, corn meal, walnuts, rasins, what ever I had on hand. I put it into loaf pans that I had lined with plastic wrap. The birds loved it but I think they liked the raw suet right from the grocery a little better. It was a fun project and made my house smell really good.

Wow, it's getting to be that time of year again.

sooey
magnoliasouth
12 years ago
Any reason why the OP said "stone ground" cornmeal? Obviously we don't want self-rising, but why stone ground vs regular?

Let them (the birds) eat (suet) cake! Photo & Recipe

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Linda Wayman

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Let them (the birds) eat (suet) cake! Photo & Recipe

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