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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Homemade Bird Suet

The lovely and talented Martha posted a suet recipe
that I wanted to try for my bird feeder.
 I made the batch and it smelled like peanut butter cookies!
Alex kept laying a plate down by the pan, which means
he wanted to eat some! ha. I did taste it.  Not exactly a cookie. ha.



It made a nice large amount so I froze blocks of it
in zip-lock bags and hung the first block on the tree
and waited to see what sweet little bird would come first!


Whoa!
Little and sweet?  Not exactly!
Excited?  Yes!

Hey, you don't suppose that's the skinny Jack Sprat, do you? ha.



Here is Martha's yummy recipe...

Peanut Butter Suet

2 cups lard
2 cups chunky peanut butter
2/3 cup white sugar
4 cups rolled oats
4 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour
Birds Seed (optional)

Melt the Lard and Chunky Peanut Butter over medium heat (in a large kettle). Add the White Sugar, Oats, Corn Meal, and Flour. I normally feed the birds a mixture with nuts and/or fruits in it and sometimes I add some of that to the suet. Stir well. Line a large cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper and pour the suet mixture in and smooth it out. Cut according to your suet feeder size and allow to set/harden. I place mine outside where it's cold. When it's hard run the knife through the previous cuts again and fill the feeder. Store the rest in a Ziploc bag and freeze.



20 comments:

  1. thanks for the recipe. i always put out food for the birds, never thought of making suet blocks myself!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Kim!

      I've purchased it before at Wal-mart and they ate it just fine. But making it was fun, too...and I bet it tastes better! :)

      Delete
  2. Ha ha ha...that bird shot is hilarious...
    Hopefully you will get some "prettier" birds as well...
    How did your boys make out today???
    Things went smoothly...I hope...:o)
    The suet looks great...but with this crazy weather, I am afraid it would all melt...
    we are headed for the 50's on the weekend...
    Looks like a January freeze..

    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomorrow is the first day for the boys. :) Tonight was the community open house, which we took them to. Despite the crowd and the noise, they did fine! I think tomorrow will be alright. :)

      Does suet melt? Ugh...I hope not. But it's cold here...no worries on that one.

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    2. I have had sweeter birds, too...but this photo was too funny not to share!

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    3. Maybe plain lard would but this has so much stuff to make it more stable, I don't think it would ever be a problem.

      Delete
  3. ha...now you have a couple 100 birds in the zoo....smiles....and make sure you let the family know you are not making cookies...smiles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha...one bite and they would think I'd lost my baking talents.

      Delete
  4. Oh thanks for sharing this Betsy! :) we get the starlings too. Not exactly who we were catering to but..:)

    This morning there was a bluebird and a cardinal sitting on the cake at the same time. So pretty!

    Alex would soon change his mind :) haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. my little nuthatches and chickadees have been enjoying it...and a little brown wren. I'm still waiting for bluebirds! ha.

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  5. Oh that picture is priceless... I wonder if you will have all the birds in Ohio coming to visit now?

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  6. maybe you laugh Betsy but I think this Martha recipe is....yummmm!any bird will be hsppy with this meal.lol

    But I cant feed mine are so.little:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, that is true...but save the recipe for winter and they will be big then! :)

      Delete
  7. Great recipe for the birdies! incredible photo!!
    Mary x

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  8. Thanks for sharing Martha's recipe, Betsy ... I'll have to give it a try. I have woodpeckers, along with the nuthatches and chickadees, and they go through 3-4 cakes of suet a week. I had to laugh at your comment about Alex placing a plate beside the pan. A friend of my husband found a cookie sheet of suet in the freezer, thought that his wife had made bar cookies, and took the whole thing with him to hunting camp to share with the guys! And I guess some of them actually liked it and were trying to figure out what the seed were ... lol!

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  9. Wow really going all out for the birds
    They even chirp words haha
    Have to fatten them up for the kitty crew
    But we won't share that fact at your zoo

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  10. I'd like to be lovely and talented too. Maybe I'll try making some. :)

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  11. I will have to try this... my birds make a MESS at our feeder and this looks like just the trick to keep it a lot cleaner and still enjoy them! Thanks for sharing!

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