Homemade Suet Cakes

Place suet cakes in a suet feeder and hang in your yard.

Suet is a type of fatty tissue that forms in the area of a cow's kidneys. Suet cakes are made using this fatty tissue and other ingredients. Many types of birds, including woodpeckers, blue jays and chickadees, enjoy eating suet cakes. You can purchase store-bought suet cakes and hang them in your yard to attract a variety of birds, but you can also make your own suet cakes, then enjoy watching the birds eat them.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring cups
• Beef suet
• Pan
• Chunky peanut butter
• Wooden spoon
• Cornmeal
• Muffin tin
• Muffin papers
• Twine
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Bread crumbs
• Unsalted nuts
• Apples
• Raisins
• White sugar
• White flour
• Creamy peanut butter
• Wild birdseed
• Wax paper

Instructions

Peanut Butter Suet Cake

1. 

   Birds enjoy the nutty taste of peanut butter.

   Melt 1/4 cup of beef suet in a pan. Add 1/4 cup of chunky peanut butter and stir it into the suet until the peanut butter softens and blends with the suet.

2. Pour 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal into the suet and peanut butter mixture. Stir well to blend, then remove the mixture from the heat.

3. Line eight to 10 sections of a muffin tin with wax-lined muffin paper. Scoop or spoon the peanut butter suet mixture into each individual muffin section.

4. 

   Twine makes a sturdy hanger for your suet cake.

   Measure and cut 10-inch pieces of twine and fold them each in half to form a loop. Place the cut end of the twine down into the suet cake to form a hanging loop. Allow the mixture to cool completely, until it hardens.

5. Remove the hardened suet cakes from the muffin tin and papers. Store excess suet cakes in your freezer and hang the other ones outdoors.

Nut and Apple Suet Cake

1. Melt 1/2 pound of suet in a pan. Stir in 2 cups of bread crumbs and 1 cup of chopped unsalted nuts.

2. 

   Fruits such as apples and berries attract some types of wild birds.

   Remove the pan from the heat. Add three finely chopped apples, 1 cup of raisins and 1 cup of white sugar. Stir well.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup of cornmeal, 1/2 cup of white flour, 1 cup of creamy peanut butter and 1 cup of wild birdseed mix. Stir the ingredients well until they're fully blended.

4. Place a piece of wax paper on your work surface. Use your hands to form the suet cakes into balls. Cut pieces of twine and place in the suet cakes for hangers.

5. Allow the suet cakes to harden on the counter or in the refrigerator. Hang some outdoors and store the others in the freezer.

Tips & Warnings

• Press the suet cake mixture for the Nut and Apple Cakes into pinecones as alternate suet bird feeders. Use pinecones found outdoors, rather then pinecones bought at a craft store. Craft store pinecones often have chemical preservatives on them.

• Squirrels also love suet cakes. Place your suet cakes where squirrels can't get them or use a squirrel shield to prevent them from reaching the cakes.

References

• AttractWildBirds.com: Making Suet Cakes for Wild Birds