Cooking for the birds

For some time now I've been wanting to make my own suet cakes for the birds. I've been reading up on the internet on how to do it. Most sights suggest you get beef fat from around the kidney from your butcher. Then there's the process of boiling down the fat and some say to do this outside because the smell is not pleasant. From there you add your other ingredients.

Well, I got my new "Birds and Blooms" magazine in the mail last week and there were several recipes for making your own suet that sounded so much easier than what I was reading on the internet. Yesterday I made my first batch. It couldn't have been any easier.....

Melt together:

2 cups Lard

1 cup peanut Butter

Then stir in:

2 cups Corn Meal

(note: make sure you use Lard which is animal fat and not shortening which is vegetable)

You can add anything you want such as seeds, raisins, oatmeal, etc. I just used crunchy peanut butter to give it some chunks. You can use anything to pour the mixture in. I used muffin tins and some shallow dishes.

Place the pans in the freezer and when completely frozen the suet will pop out easily.

I cut the suet into squares about the same size as my suet cages. Make sure you store the suet in the freezer. At room temperature the consistency is not much thicker than peanut butter. It's also best to use this suet in cold weather so it doesn't become too soft outside.

I'm anxious for my birds to test my suet. I'm waiting for them to finish up what's already in the feeders before I surprise them with their new suet treat.