 Gourmet Bird Food Balls
2 lb. ground suet
2 C. peanut butter
1/3 C. molasses
1/4 C. bacon grease
1 lb. regular oatmeal
1 C. cornmeal
Bird feed with sunflower seeds Have the butcher grind the suet.
Place suet in a pan and melt over medium heat. Strain into a large bowl. Add peanut butter, molasses, bacon grease, oatmeal and corn meal. Add enough seeds until mixture can be rolled into balls. Roll into two-inch balls and coat with bird feed while warm. Chill.
Place outside for the birds. If using as a gift, wrap individual balls in plastic wrap and tie with a ribbon. Attach a label indicating it is for the birds. Yields 24 two-inch balls
Hi-Pro Bird Goodies
4 C. suet
1/4 C. millet
1 C. cracker or bread crumbs
1/2 C. sunflower seeds
1/4 C. dried fruit: raisins,
currants or dates
1/4 C. peanuts or peanut butter
Melt the suet or solid fat in a large, heavy saucepan until it is liquid. Remove from heat and allow it to cool until slightly thickened.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl, then pour the cooled suet over the mixture. Stir thoroughly. While the mixture is warm and pliable, you can spread it onto tree trunks or tree limbs for easy feeding. You can pack it into the spaces in pine cones and hang the pine cones on a tree. Or you can spread it in a 1-inch deep baking pan and refrigerate overnight. When the suet is hardened, cut it into squares to fit your feeder.
Suet Muffins
(for birds)
2 C. warm rendered suet*
1 C. dry bread crumbs
1 can dog food or 1 C. peanut butter
2 C. raisins
2 C. rolled oats
Mix together well. Pour into a cupcake pan, then chill. Hang muffins in bird feed bag or fasten with a string to a tree.
* Render 2 pounds of raw suet by chopping in a meat grinder. Place in pot with 1/2 inch of water; cover with lid and place in a 350°F oven. Stir occasionally. Set lid ajar after fat begins to run. Count on 2 to 3 hours cooking time; strain liquid fat.
Suet Cups & Cones
Suet is beef fat. Suet mixtures are available at bird supply stores, or you can get plain suet from a butcher. The instructions for Suet Cups and Cones are from the Denver Audubon Society.
Large pine cones
Suet mixture
Red yarn, heavy string or wire
Hollowed-out orange halves
Pipe cleaners
For suet cups, hollow out orange halves. Fill the empty halves with the suet mixture. Poke a hole on each side of the orange half near the top. Work one end of the pipe cleaner through each hole, bending the ends to make handles with which to hang the cup.
For suet cones, cover the pine cones with your choice of suet mixture or plain suet. Work the suet mixture into the scales of the pine cones. Hang the cones with yarn, string or wire.
A Bird's Delight
1 1/4 lb. suet
1/2 C. sunflower seeds
1/2 C. crushed peanuts
1/2 C. cracked corn kernels
Melt suet in the oven or saucepan (yields about 2 cups liquid fat). Stir in peanuts, sunflower seeds and corn. Spoon into a 4-cup heart-shaped mold (or two 2-cup molds); insert a drinking straw at the top (for rope). Cool in the refrigerator until solid.
Unmold; remove straw. Thread with string and tie to a shaded tree branch.
Bird Bread
This recipe is from the Bird Watcher's Digest.
2 C. melted peanut butter, bacon
grease, meat grease or other fat
2 C. cornmeal, or stale dry cereal
blended into crumbs
Warm water
2 to 3 C. wild birdseed
Raisins, nutmeats or chopped peanuts
Slowly melt peanut butter, grease or fat over low heat. Add cornmeal or stale cereal crumbs. Slowly add enough warm water to make a stiff dough, then add birdseed and raisins, nut meats or chopped peanuts. Pack mixture into small foil pans or a large flat pan and refrigerate overnight. Cut into pieces for tying onto tree branches.
recipes submitted by ericca
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Bird Bread
