Birds like to eat suet all year, but it sometimes melts in hot weather. What I do to make the suet last a lot longer is to put it in the freezer; I do that as soon as I buy new cakes, and keep them there until I need to put them out.
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I had been making suet with just lard, cornmeal, and various nuts and seeds. The birds loved it! But, as soon as it warmed up, the suet melted. So I tried adding flour and peanut butter to give it more body.
It holds together better, but the birds won't have much to do with it. That's probably not much to go on, but do you guys have any ideas?Suet is not lard. It is beef fat, which is more solid. If you're rendering it at home, Get the white, flaky, layered fat of beef.
Abigail is correct. If you want to make suet cakes, you must start with suet, which is beef fat. Ask for it at a butcher shop, as it is not used for many things anymore.
I keep all my store bought suet in the freezer. Then when I put it outside, its not so messy.
I am an avid bird feeder! How does one prevent suet from melting through in the summer warmth? On the market, I have only seen, small blocks of suet that claim to not melt. My experience leads me to say that all suet melts. Any suggestions?
By Sandra
The 'no-melt' suet still melts, just not as fast as the regular kind. I live in the south, and have never been able to stop it from melting. You could try using a plastic tub to hold it, where at least all the contents stay together. I just stopped using them when the weather is warm, and store them in the freezer until it is cool outside.
Adding corn meal to your suet cake will do the trick. Mine doesn't melt and believe me its been hot here in Oklahoma. I mix up lard, corn meal (no salt kind), oatmeal, peanut butter, until it is thick like (and if you want add raisins or seeds, but you don't need anything else).
Put in suet containers (I saved all my store bought ones), set in the refrigerator until set and then put each container in a sandwich bag and put into the freeze until ready to 'serve'.
Very good info. I will have to try this. I have lots of birds in my back yard and I hope that this will draw even more in during winter months here in SC.
