Birds will eat the fat of cattle, hogs and other animals. However, the fatty food most commonly fed backyard birds is beef fat also known as suet. The very best suet is found around the kidneys and loins of cattle. When rendered, this fat won’t become rancid or melt in warm weather as quickly as other fats.
When cooking up meals, pull out your You Do It Suet® mold and place on the counter. As your meat heats up and fat starts to run, pour it off into the You Do It Suet® mold. It is OK if the beef fat is hot, the silicone mold can withstand it. When you have drained off all of the excess beef fat into the You Do It Suet® mold, mix in ingredients of your choice; such as peanuts, fruits, bird seed and more. Once you have mixed and filled the You Do It Suet® mold to the fill line, place in the freezer to harden. When you are ready to feed the wild birds release the suet cake from the silicone mold and place the suet cake into a standard suet cage feeder in your yard.
Using a You Do It Suet® mold you can make suet cakes for wild birds using excess meat fat.
In 2015 24.807 billion pounds of beef was consumed in the USA. With that being said, you can guess that most Americans like to eat beef. Lucky for wild birds, beef has fat and that fat can be used to feed the wild birds during the cooler months to keep them warm, full and happy.
When cooking beef whether it be ground, chopped or sliced there will always be excess fat that will need to be drained off during cooking. This excess beef fat is the perfect ingredient for making a suet cake. Did you know that you can turn fat from ground beef into suet for birds?
Suet is one of the most popular bird foods. Its the best food to attract woodpeckers, and among the other birds fond of suet are wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, kinglets, thrashers, creepers, cardinals, and starings. Mixtures of suet and peanut butter may attract woodpeckers, goldfinches, juncos, cardinals, thrushes, jays, kinglets, bluebirds, wrens, and starlings.
Suet is solid at room temperature, and so long as outside temperatures remain below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, all you have to do is put out raw beef fat. Trim excess fat off beef cuts before cooking, or buy suet from your butcher or grocer. If the temperature is warmer, beef fat can melt or turn rancid, and its safer to use cakes of hard rendered suet. You can buy commercial suet cakes, or you can make your own using rendered suet.
To render suet, its best to start with ground beef fat (ask your butcher to grind it if dont have a meat grinder, or else chop the raw beef fat as fine as you can). Heat the ground or chopped suet over a medium flame until all the fat leaches out. There should be nothing pink in your pan, only solid grey bits in a clear liquid. Strain out the grey bits by pouring the melted suet through a fine cheesecloth. Save the strained liquid fat and let it cool. Suet at this stage is still somewhat soft, but if you melt it and strain it again, you will produce a very hard suet. You may put out your rendered suet as is, use it to make suet cakes, or store it for later use (it will keep several months in a covered container in your freezer).
The traditional suet feeder is a small wire cage, which may be placed on the trunk of a tree or suspended from a branch. You can also place suet in a nylon mesh bag. Some bird feeders have a hopper for seeds, and suet cages on the sides of the hopper. You can put either raw or prepared suet in these feeders. Soft suet mixtures may be spread on tree trunks or smeared onto pine cones that may be hung.
Starlings are particularly fond of suet. To discourage them, use a cage that is covered on all sides but the bottom, so that the only birds that will eat the suet will be those that can hang upside down while feeding (this is not a problem for woodpeckers, but it gives starlings the fits).
DIY Suet Cakes
FAQ
Is it safe to feed fat to birds?
How do you render beef fat for birds?
Can you make bird suet from beef fat?
Can I use hamburger grease to bird suet?
Can birds eat raw beef?
Bon appetit! Raw beef (or mutton) fat, particularly that found around the loins and kidneys, is known as suet. This page is dedicated to its use as a food for birds, despite the fact that it can be used to make anything from candles to Christmas puddings.
How do you make suet from beef fat?
1 cup rendered fat and 1 cup of chunky peanut butter should be thoroughly blended to create a liquid. add 1/2 cup white or wheat flour and 3 cups of ground corn. Mix the ingredients well. In the warmer months, this makes the suet less messy and easier for birds to consume. Can you make suet out of beef fat?
Is homemade suet a good bird food?
Homemade suet is traditionally a cold-weather bird food because the suet itself (the hard animal fat around the kidneys and loins of cows and sheep) can turn rancid if temperatures are above 70°F. If you live in a warm climate, we do not recommend using homemade suet because it will spoil too quickly.
Why do birds eat suet?
Suet is a solidified mix of fats, which birds eat to stay warm in wintertime. They’re also helpful in early spring when the food supply is low, and many birds are building nests. A basic suet cake combines equal parts of beef fat and assorted birdseed.