At our old house, we had birds around all the time. It’s been sad to build our bird friend list up from scratch. Over the past few months, I’ve set out feeders and scattered seed, hoping to attract some flighty little guys. This week the weather took a drastic downturn, and I worried that the birds would struggle to find enough to eat. That’s when I remembered the homemade suet cakes I made at our old house. This easy recipe is so simple, you’ll want to make it on your snow day!
My suet cakes are made with beef fat. I save the grease from ground beef when making soup or spaghetti sauce, then mix in the simple suet ingredients. Online sources say that you could try other fats such as pork; I haven’t tried those.
In a separate bowl, set out some ingredients to mix in. Consider using rolled oats, peanut butter, bread cubes, or dried fruit. I didn’t have any of those things on hand, so I just used seed. Mine is already hulled (I spring for the good stuff for my birds!) which makes it easier for the birds to eat.
Stir the beef fat into the seed/mix in bowl, just enough to combine. Don’t worry if things float around. That makes it even more tempting for the birds! If you’re using a special container to set out the suet, make sure you consider that size/shape before putting this in the fridge. Set the mixture in the fridge to harden. I was in a hurry, so I put mine in the freezer.
When the mixture has set, pop it out of the container. If you have a fancy suet cage, you could fill it with the cake you made. You’ll notice that the mesh bag I pictured at the top is different from the one I actually used. At some point after I took that photo, my sweet husband decided to clean the countertop and threw away the orange bag……even though I specifically said, “Don’t throw that away. I’m going to use it soon.” Should I complain that he was cleaning? No. I just dug around until I found a potato bag instead.
Well, okay. Maybe I complained a little bit.
The potato bag worked just fine. It all hangs very prettily (ha!) from my deck. Now, if the birds could just find it — what a treat they’d have! It’s supposed to be cold and snowy tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll have some feathery visitors soon.
What do you do for the wildlife in your yard in the winter?
I’m sure the birds appreciate your efforts. Thanks for sharing!
OMgosh this is so easy! I think my son and I will try this to fight the winter blues!! We have super pretty birds by us 🙂
This looks so easy! I bought seed but never made the suet. Now I think we’ll do it!
This looks rewarding and fun. Done similar projects, but this looks like a simple method.
Great idea! They birds would love this here when they can’t find much else to eat.
I love feeding the birds. I will save this and try it out, thanks!
Donna, I checked on my suet a few days ago and it was gone. I’ll have to make another batch soon!
It’s cold out today and this would be great. How creative to use grease fat!
I’m glad you’re helping your birds. I don’t do anything.
Our weather goes up and down, but it’s cold today. What a great idea! Plus, it Peanut Butter Lover’s Day…I bet the birds would enjoy too.
This is a great idea and also really sweet that you care about your backyard birds. I love birds, they are actually my favorite animal. I love feeding my backyard birds as well. I prepare suet cakes for the Steller’s Jay birds, and cracked corn for the Dark Eyed Juncos.
I feed our birds all year long, when the weather warms up I get the bird bath out so they can have some water too.