Offering suet in your backyard is a great way to please insect eaters. Suet products come in many “flavors” and forms, but the basic ingredient is typically pure fat, preferably the calorie-rich beef kidney fat called “suet” at the butcher shop. If you consider making suet another enjoyable facet of bird watching, this article is for you! Below are three recipes for homemade suet . . .
Standard Suet Mix: Twice melt 2 parts suet, allowing it to harden between melts. Blend in 1 part yellow cornmeal and 1 part peanut butter. Allow to thicken, pour into molds, allow to harden. The relative proportions of these ingredients may vary depending upon your preferences.
Suet Mix. Mix 1-1/2 parts ground wheat bread, 1 part hulled sunflower seeds, ½ part millet, ½ part dried and chopped fruits. Melt 9 parts suet. Blend ingredients into suet as it cools.
Veggie-Suet Mix (no “meat”). Boil 2 cups water, 1 Tbsp. Butter, 1 Tbsp. sugar and 2 Tbsp. cinnamon. Add 1 cup oatmeal, ½ cup raisins. Let cool. Blend in ½ c. corn meal, ½ c. whole wheat flour, ½ c. millet, 4 c. crunchy natural (no salt, no additives) peanut butter. Stuff this into a suet log, or smear on a tree branch.
Refrigerate all leftover mixtures. Recipes from Washington State Department of Wildlife.
