Suet Recipes

Soft Suet Medley

4 1/2 cups ground fresh suet
  3/4 cup dried and fine ground bakery goods
      (whole-wheat or cracked-wheat bread or crackers are best)
  1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
  1/4 cup millet
  1/4 cup dried and chopped fruit (currants, raisins, or berries)
  3/4 cup dried and fine ground meat (optional)
  1. Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat.
  2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
  3. Allow the suet to cool until slightly thickened, then stir it into the mixture in the bowl. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Pour or pack into forms or suet feeders; smear onto tree trunks or overhanging limbs and branches; or pack into pine cones.

Hard Suet Tidbit Cakes


  1/2 lb. fresh ground suet
  1/3 cup sunflower seed
  2/3 cup wild bird seed (mix)
  1/8 cup chopped peanuts
  1/4 cup raisins
  1. Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat. Allow it to cool thoroughly, then reheat it.
  2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
  3. Allow the suet to cool until slightly thickened, then stir it into the mixture in the bowl. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Pour into pie pan or form, or pack into suet feeders.
Optional or substitute ingredients: millet (or other birdseed), cornmeal, cooked noodles, chopped berries, dried fruit.

Soft Peanut Butter Mix


    1 cup fresh ground suet
    1 cup peanut butter
    3 cups yellow corn meal
  1/2 cup white or whole-wheat flour
  1. Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat.
  2. Add peanut butter, stirring until melted and well blended.
  3. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
  4. Allow the suet-peanut-butter blend to cool until slightly thickened, then stir it into the mixture in the bowl. Mix thoroughly.
  5. Pour or pack into forms or suet feeders; smear onto tree trunks or overhanging limbs and branches; or pack into pine cones.

Hard Peanut Butter Mix #1


    2 pounds fresh ground suet
  1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
  1/2 cup coarse-chopped shelled sunflower seeds
  1. Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat.
  2. Add peanut butter, stirring until melted and well blended.
  3. Stir in the sunflower seeds. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Pour into 9 x 13 cake pan and cool
  5. Cut into cakes that fit suet feeder
  6. Individually wrap the remaining cakes and store in freezer

Hard Peanut Butter Mix #2


    2 cup fresh ground suet
    1 cup peanut butter
    2 cups yellow corn meal
    2 cups fine cracked corn
  1. Melt suet in a saucepan over low heat. Allow it to cool thoroughly; then reheat it.
  2. Add peanut butter, stirring until melted and well blended.
  3. Add dry ingredients to the suet-peanut-butter blend, and mix well.
  4. Pour into forms or suet-feeders, and cool until hardened.

Helen Foss's Spreadable Suet

from the mail, January 5, 1996

Hi Terry:

I'm writing from Ottawa, Canada and have found an easy way to make suet (Woodpeckers at feeder just a few minutes ago) and it's minus 21 celcius here!

I went to a butcher store and asked the butcher for a chunk of suet and he gave me two or three good sized pieces. Took them home and cut them into small pieces, put them into a saucepan, over low heat and let them melt the liquid fat out. When there was enough liquid grease, I just put it into a clean soup can, put suet back on stove and waited until more liquid came out. Did the same thing until all the liquid grease was out, and then mashed up the brown left-overs into the liquid and let it set.

I have a piece of log with perches and holes in it, so stuff soft suet in the holes and hang on feeder pole. The woodpeckers and chickadees just love it.

Very hard to secure chunks of suet around here now due to the fact that most of the meat comes into stores aleady dressed and no more beef sides. I was very lucky and found a butcher that still received his beef the old way.

I have rendered suet down in the oven in years gone by, but it leaves a horrible smell in the house, top of stove method was much better.

Good luck to you and a Very Happy New Year
Helen Foss

Jesse Perez's Bird Cakes

from rec.birds, January 7, 1996

Most of the time I just put out rendered suet, but for fun I use the following bird cake receipe: 

    1 cup  crunchy peanut butter
    1 cup  lard
    2 cups quick cook oats
    2 cups cornmeal
    1 cup  flour
  1/3 cup  sugar
Melt the peanut butter and lard and add remaining ingredients and cool.

Out of all the recipes that I have tried, this is by far the most popular in my yard. The Brown Thrashers hang upside down on the suet cage to get at it. It's a hilarious scene to watch!

Sharon Smith's Sure-fire Suet Mix

from the mail, Jan 28, 1997

This is SOOOOOO easy to make, and my birds love it...from woodpeckers to chickadees to thrashers to sparrows.

    1 part peanut butter (I use crunchy)
    1 part shortening
    1 part flour
    3 parts cornmeal
    1 part cracked corn
  I also add black oil sunflower seeds and/or mixed seed
As I say, it's very easy to make and quite a popular item. (Last year I was given some store-bought suet cakes, and my birds refused to eat them! I finally broke them apart and combined with the above recipe!)
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