Summer Sausage Gift Boxes: What's Inside and How to Serve Them

Summer sausage is the backbone of a great gift box: rich, smoky and ready to eat the moment the box is opened. Here's everything you need to know, whether you're sending one or just got one.

What is summer sausage?

Summer sausage is a cured, smoked sausage that's fully cooked and ready to eat. It got its name from the days before refrigeration, when it was made to keep through the warm months. Today it's a gift-box classic because it travels well and tastes great with cheese, crackers and mustard.

Dan's summer sausage is naturally smoked, 100% beef (no pork) and gluten free. It comes in two flavors: Original and Garlic, 10 oz. each.

Does summer sausage need to be refrigerated?

Not until it's opened. Our summer sausage is shelf stable while it's sealed, so it can ship without ice packs and sit under the tree. Once you open it, keep it in the refrigerator.

Do you need to cook it?

No. It's fully cooked and ready to eat straight out of the package.

How to serve it

• Slice it thin, about ¼ inch, on a slight diagonal for a nicer look on the board.
• Pair it with cheese: sharp cheddar, Swiss or smoked Gouda. Our London House Farms cheeses are made for it.
• Add mustard. Dan's Sweet Hot Mustard is the house favorite.
• Fill in the board with crackers, nuts, pretzels and olives, or a spoonful of lingonberry sauce for a sweet-tart contrast.

What's inside a summer sausage gift box?

Most of our gift boxes are built around summer sausage and add cheese, crackers, mustard and sweet and savory snacks. A few favorites:

• The Cascade ($49.95): two summer sausages, mustard and nuts.
• The Skandia ($59.95): Original and Garlic summer sausage, smoked Gouda and Scandinavian lingonberry spread.
• The Chinook ($69.95): two summer sausages, Seabear salmon, cheese and nuts.
• Bare Necessities ($79.95): premium summer sausages with Tillamook cheese.

Every product page lists the exact contents. Browse sausage and mustard or all gift boxes.

Who is it a good gift for?

Pretty much anyone who likes a good snack: dads, grandparents, clients, coworkers, the neighbor who plows your driveway. Because it's shelf stable and shareable, it works as well for an office as for one person.