Summer sausage is often made from beef (but sometimes also pork or venison) and select few other shelf-stable ingredients, such as curing salt, pepper, and mustard seed. Since it’s cured, dried, and often smoked, it does not need to be refrigerated, which stems from its centuries-old origins when refrigeration was not an option.
You can safely enjoy summer sausage right out of the package without cooking it. It’s typically served thinly sliced on its own or alongside accouterments such as cheese. Some Southerners like to make post-holiday sandwiches with summer sausage, or even chop it up and throw it into a casserole.
Other ways to enjoy it include in sandwiches or wraps, on pizza, in a salad or pasta salad, mixed into macaroni and cheese, with cheese and crackers, or on a charcuterie board.