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Can I substitute bacon grease for suet in making suet cakes?

15 years ago

I was just wondering.

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Comments (5)

donald lucius
15 years ago
i do all the time. i use shortning or lard or ground suet or beef tallow or bacon grease. The only concern i have heard is some people say that the bacon grease has salt from the curing bacon. but most say by the time you add all the other ingredients it is not enough to matter. we don't cook bacon much anymoe but i save the grease and freeze it till i want to use it. And lots of the time i will use up the bacon grease along with suet or lard to make a bigger batch which also dilutes down what salt might be in the bacon grease
algeritapicker
15 years ago
How much salt is in bacon grease?? What is a good "recipe" for bird suet? And how much salt is good or bad for wild birds?
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Hi all, I built a Suet log and started making suet mixtures in December 06, and it's been going strong since! The Suet Log attracts such a wide variety of birds, I cannot believe how successfully it works. I have Eastern Bluebirds that visit daily, since peanut butter suet is a favorite of theirs. They are beautiful to watch. The Suet log is made with Red pine (Pinus resinosa) log, bark, and perches. It has a natural rustic look. But you can use any wood! Bark and perches help the birds feed at the log. They can cling to the bark or perch and eat the suet. Many people hang their log from a tree branch or hanger, but my log is pole-mounted about six feet up with a squirrel/raccoon baffle. I drilled a hole about 3-4 inches deep straight up the bottom of the log, so that it slides over the pole. It is a very secure installation. Highly recommended! I drilled holes for the suet and glued perches underneath some of the holes, and branches around the top of the log, kind of like an "umbrella" effect. The birds absolutely love to hang out on the perches and branches. Sometimes I will have 4 or 5 species eating or hanging out. Even the finches, who do not eat the suet at all, like to hang out on the branches. The only drawback is that over time, the perches and branches DO break or come loose, and some maintenance is necessary. But the basic log itself, has remained solid and intact through 4 seasons in all weather, and the birds really don't care if a perch is broken! The Suet mixture I make with rendered suet ("Simply Suet" from Wild Birds Unlimited), crunchy peanut butter, corn meal, ww flour, ground up oats, and crushed peanuts/other nuts as basic ingredients, approx 1/2 fat, 1/2 dried ingredients. I've also added currants (these are small raisins that don't need to be chopped), leftover dried cat food, ground up dried & baked eggshells, etc. They love it all! Here are photos of the feeding station, and the finished suet mixture. Also some pretty visitors that come to the log! My feeding station - includes the Suet log, 2 small Black oil sunflower feeders, and couple water features: This is what the suet mixture looks like when finished: The small flock of Bluebirds, who are regular visitors:
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I would think butter is not a good option. Because it has milk proteins in it, there is the potential for it to become rancid, especially in warmer temperatures and the fact that it was melted to mix in. Also, I am not sure on bird's abilities to digest milk based products. Just my 2 cents. BN
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I have an excellent book which someone gave me called "The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher Birdfeeders and bird Gardens" by Robert Burton & Stephen W. Kress, published by the Audubon Society on Thunder Bay Press. (ISBN 1-57145-186-2) Not only does this book have excellent pictures of birds, it has dozens of plans on how to make bird feeders, nesting boxes, bird baths and how to plant a landscape garden to attract birds. There is one whole chapter devoted to bird feeds and what birds they will attract. In addition to the common seeds and suet mixes they have a long list of table scraps that are great for attracting birds. They suggest making a wire cage and put your meat scraps in it, especially the fats that your trim off cooked hams or beef in addition to ham bones, beef marrow bones and even teh leftover turkey bones. A few other things that i found interesting was cooked spaghetti, cooked rice, uncooked pastry dough, baked potatoes with the skin on and stale cheese. Out of curiosity I baked a potato in the microwave, then sliced it in half and put it on my shelf feeder. It was a big hit with all the birds. Another thing that the birds here seem to like is orange peels. I saw a Blue jay pick up and orange peel that was 1/4 of the orange and fly off with it. If anyone is looking for a great how to book on building bird feeders or bird houses or making their own bird feeds I would highly recommend this one, especially if you are making bird feed because I am a bit skeptical of the health concerns for the birds when i read the recommendations of some books, but I don't think the Audubon Society would steer us wrong.
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I made a suet log 3 years ago and have been making a home-made suet mixture year-round since. It usually includes rendered suet, crunchy peanut butter, flour, corn meal, crushed nuts, etc. I sometimes put 1/2 cup of jam in the mixture, which sweetens it. The sugar provides extra energy for the birds in the winter. Recently I tried using lard from the supermarket, which is cheaper, and it worked equally well. The birds LOVE this mixture! Many different birds eat it, even Sparrows and Juncoes jump up on the log and eat it. My faves are the Bluebirds - last winter I had up to 7 at one time, the most ever yet. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the relatively small amount of salt if bacon fat is used in a mixture. Straight up I'm not sure?
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donald lucius
15 years ago
i have googled use of bacon grease and also bing search and asked about it with a bunch of different audubon societys in different states. the majority of them recomend useing bacon grease as long as the birds have sufficient water supplys. I have used bacon grease for many years and have lots of birds but i do keep fresh water or heated water trays in winter. I usually mix equal parts of suet or lard or bacon grease or tallow or shortning with peanut butter and add some chopped nuts and then thicken it with cornmeal and rolled oats or grits or flour to make a paste. we don't eat a lot of bacon or fatty meats anymore but do save the fats and freeze them. and mix whatever i have on hand into the mix and the bacon grease is usually pretty well diluted down.
Most say it attracts the woodpeckers and chickadees and nuthatches but i get almost every kind of bird i get eating mine. including the jays and juncos and finches ect.
terrene
15 years ago
I have used raw suet, rendered suet, and Snow cap lard in my mixture for the birds, with only minor adjustments. The birds have loved it all.

My son has been eating pork bacon lately, and I've been saving the fat in paper cups and put it in the freezer. I will add it to the suet or lard next time making the bird mixture. Because it will be mixed with other fat, peanut butter, corn meal, flour, nuts, etc. I think the salt content would be significantly diluted from pure bacon fat. I'm not sure how much salt is too much though.

Here is an an interesting web page to read if you want to know more about using fats in home-made mixtures for the birds:

"The Great Crisco Debate" - The Suet vs. Lard vs. Shortening question
HU-203863634
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Bacon grease is a soft spreadable fat. Not good at all, if they get it on their feathers they will starve to death trying to clean it off of themselves.

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