We strive to bring you only the best products, and Stonie's award-winning summer sausage is hands down the best! Stonie's Sausage Shop has been crafting and selling their deliciously smoked and cured meats for sixty years and counting. Opened in 1959 by Stonie Wibbenmeyer in Perryville, Missouri, they process all of their meats in-house, using award-winning recipes and time-honed techniques. We are proud to offer them to you. Stonie's beef and pork are raised in the Midwest. They maintain a personal relationship with their suppliers. All Stonie's sausages are made in their Perryville, Missouri facility. If they can't make it, they won't sell it. Stonie's founder, Stanislaus Wibbenmeyer, was nicknamed Stonie. It rhymes with Bonnie and Connie. Stonie's is still owned and operated by his direct descendants. Summer sausage was made in Europe for hundreds of years. A large population of German immigrants settled in Southeast Missouri, and brought their recipes with them. Summer sausage got its name from the fact that the sausage needed little or no refrigeration, thus the sausages could be kept for eating in the usually warmer summer months. While unopened summer sausage does not need refrigeration, extended exposure to high temperature can cause the natural oils in the meat to separate. To guard against this, we recommend that you refrigerate it or store it in a cool place after you receive it, and it must be refrigerated after opening. It does not require cooking, and can be eaten immediately after opening and straight out of the refrigerator. However, we think the flavor is at its best at room temperature. NOTE: Individual sausage weight may vary by up to 1 ounce.