I hope the birds appreciate it. I think they will.

John Pollman

Member
Messages
1,332
Location
Rochester Hills, MI
Darren's Dutch Oven thread from a few days ago has inspired me. I went right downstairs and modified my D.O. to work on my stove and in my oven. I've already made an awesome loaf of bread and a batch of Beef Burgundy which was delicious.

I decided to scrub and re-season the D.O. before using it so I needed some lard. Unfortunately, I couldn't get just a pound at my local grocery store. All they had at the time was a 2-1/2 lb. tub. Even though I only needed two or three ounces I bought the tub. After I was done, I didn't know what I was going to do with the rest of the lard. I don't cook with it much because of the fat/cholesterol content. This afternoon I was just about to pitch it but that just seemed too wasteful. Sitting on my couch watching the birds outside sparked an idea. How about making some suet cakes? I picked up a small bag of bird seed and a suet cage and got to work. It was very easy and I think it's going to be a big hit. Here's what I did...

I just put a bunch of lard into a medium sauce pan and turned the heat to medium low. As it melted I just stirred it occasionally. When it was completely melted, I added equal parts of peanut butter and flour (to help firm it up when cooled). Probably about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of each. I just stirred the peanut butter in with a large spoon until melted. Then I used a whisk to incorporate the flour. When it was smooth, I removed it from the heat and set it on the garage floor. That way it would cool much faster than sitting inside. I used the whisk and kept stirring it occasionally because it's pretty cool in the garage and the outer portions were firming up and the middle was still warm liquid. I wanted it to be thickened up a bit so that when I added the seed it would stay suspended and not sink to the bottom of the pan. It worked very well, in a little more than an hour the consistency seemed perfect to add the seed. I brought it inside and gradually added the seed and stirred to incorporate. When I had the right amount, I put it into two bread pans and set it outside to firm up. It's only been about 90 minutes and it's very firm already. When it comes time to slice, I think I'll just dip the pan in some hot water to release it and I can turn it out onto a plate and slice off pieces to put in the suet holder I have. Here are some pics of the process.

The beginning:
Suet1.JPG


As it's melting:
Suet2.JPG


After the peanut butter and flour are incorporated:
Suet3.JPG


This is the consistency before the seed was added:
Suet4.JPG


Seeds in and ready for the forms:
Suet5.JPG


It's all done and ready to firm up:
Suet6.JPG


Ready to slice:
Suet7.JPG


This was kind of a fun thing to do. We'll see how well the critters like it. :)

John
 
It wasn't bad at all. Actually the pan was practically clean when I was done because I used a stiff rubber spatula to get the suet out of the pan and into the molds. It smelled great in here too! I guess adding the peanut butter really helped.

John
 
I don't know about the birds, but I can say for sure that a 95 lbs boxer would love it.... Last I put up I hung to low and it was gone in a day. I was worried that it might make him sick, but he was fine.
 
John that is a wonderful idea and something i have wanted to do for the longest time. I need some guidance. What type of birdseed did you choose? I can see the mix but is it specifically for wild bird or budgie or parrot.

What are you using for a suet cage, can a piece of chicken cage wire do?

Anyone have an idea of what is around that will eat this in winter in our parts. Should be the same as Mi i would presume. I would like to hang this near my workshop windows. Seems strange to me the birds i have observed here in summer seem to be bug and fruit eaters more than seed type.
 
Sharon puts out seed and suet cakes in front of our house. We have a bunch of different types out there attacking the feeders. I'll have to pay more attention to the suet cakes.
 
Rob,
there are LOTS of different varieties of bird seed out there. I went to my local ACE Hardware to pick up a couple other things and looked at their pretty large selection of seed but the cheapest bag I could find was over $11. The suet cage they had was a little larger than a standard one but they wanted almost $11 for that one too. That seemed a tad bit expensive to me. I ended up going to Kroger and bought a suet cage for $2.59 and a big bag of a generic "Wild Bird Seed" for $2.69! You can put just about anything you want in the suet though. It just depends on what kind of birds you have in your area. You may be able to check with someone in your area as to what kind of seed to use but I'm pretty sure that just a generic wild bird mix would be fine.

I'm no bird expert, but I've read that in the winter birds need the boost of energy they get from the additional fat in the suet. If you've got some "hardware cloth" in maybe 1/2" that would probably be fine. Just fashion some type of holder for it and drop the suet in and hang it up.
 
Don't give all of that lard to the birds. If you haven't had pie crust made with lard instead of shortening.......you have never had good pie crust. So tender and flaky, try it once and you'll never go back. :thumb:
 
I keep a suet block out for most of the year. The birds that use it are mainly woodpeckers (4 kinds) Nuthatches, and Bluejays, although the Red-winged Blackbirds hit it once in a while, and the starlings (hate them!) raid it occasionally.

I also feed mixed seed and black oil sunflower seeds year-round. Birds and squirrels both like the black oil seeds, and the little guys - finches and chickadees, mostly - like the smaller seeds in the mix.

I go through about 50~60 pounds of sunflower seeds a month in winter - less in summer - and about 60~75 pounds of seed mix per month.

I also go through about two of those suet blocks a week.

Feeding these little feathered critters gets a bit expensive - I probably average about forty bucks a month over the course of a year. I buy all my seeds and feeds at a local Ag Co-Op. Prices there are less than half that at "Wild Bird" or at pet stores.
 
Never figured what we spend on bird seed and suet, but we have about 6 feeders hanging around the front yard..we pretty much keep them full of seed for the birds... my son likes to photograph the birds and he's a big help in keeping us supplied with bird seed when he comes in for a day or two....
I've put up a couple and need to do some more, blue bird houses around the back yard... we have an jolla hanging on the front porch that a couple of years back the blue birds nested in... then the cowbirds took it over and were so messy I finally just plugged it so they can't get in... we raised 3 or 4 broods of birdies in that jug.
 
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