How to Make (Flavored) Suet Cakes for Birds

Last Updated: January 25, 2022 Approved

Suet cakes have been used ever since humans have collected suet as a means to feed wild birds. In this tutorial, you'll learn a way to put a spin on the classic suet cakes. By adding your own flavors, you can experiment to find out what flavors your local birds like best! Since this will vary from region to region, it's a fun challenge for you.

Ingredients

Rendered fat (lard works fine, about 250g/8.8 oz)
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter (the crunchier, the better)
1 cup cornmeal (or anything similar to thicken)
Seeds or nuts, dried fruit, chili powder, and sugar (to change it up a little bit; optional)

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Melting the Fat

1
Melt down the fat. Place the fat in a saucepan and put on the stovetop on a low to medium heat.
- Using an old saucepan is better because fat can be a pain to clean out.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Mixing the Suet Cakes

1
Add the melted fat and peanut butter to the mixing bowl. About two to three tablespoons of peanut butter should be sufficient but gauge this by the consistency.
2
Add some cornmeal. A cup should do it here; you still want a liquid consistency, so again, gauge it as you add the ingredient.
3
Chop and/or grind some ingredients. Go ahead and take all your seeds and anything else that's hard and suitable for bird feed that you wish to add. Grind them––a simple coffee grinder works fine.
4
Add the fruits to the grinder. Chopping the stickier ones before adding the rest is always good, so they don't make a mess (and they'll grind with more ease).
5
Add the ground fruits and seeds to the mixture.
6
If you find that the mixture is still not dry enough, add more bird seed. Another thing you can do is continue stirring; lard and most fats get stiffer the more you stir them.
7
Make sure that the mixture is now the right consistency. You should have a solution that is finally hard to stir.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Shaping the Suet Cakes

1
Grab a container the shape you want your cakes. Squares, circles, rectangle, stars... anything! Do bear in mind that the more complex the shape, the harder it may be to shape; for example, the stars may be a little more difficult to keep together.
2
Fill the container up a little. Feel free to make more than one, by the way. You only need to fill it about an inch (2.5cm) because this will be the thickness of the cake. You can pop it into the fridge overnight to harden it and make it more cake-like.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Unmolding and Serving the Suet Cakes

1
Use a knife and remove each suet cake you've made. A butter knife works fine, just scrape it out around the edge.
2
Put the suet cake in a container. Then hang it up and wait for your local bird life to come calling!

Community Q&A

Question

Can I avoid lard or fat?

Community Answer

Suet is the hard white fat on animal meat, so it would be very difficult to avoid. Vegan suet could be harmful to the birds and may not hold up as well in warm weather. If you have an objection to dealing with the lard on meat, you can always buy suet cakes, which are already prepared and heated.
Question

Do I have to grind the seeds?

Community Answer

I don't think so based on looking at commercial suet cakes I've used for years. But this sounds like a good idea as you would get more nutrients in the cake you're making. I'll probably do a combination.
Question

Do I have to melt the lard to mix it with peanut butter?

Community Answer

Yes, melting the lard makes it possible to mix it with the peanut butter.