Quickly Grilled

• Grilling brings out the smokiness of summer sausage. Brush the grill with oil before getting started so the sausage doesn't stick, then grill over a medium-hot fire. Since there's no need to cook the sausage through, grill for flavor until the skin gets crisp and has grill marks. Grilling also creates tasty summer sausage kabobs. Slice the sausage into 1-inch chunks. Thread on a skewer with vegetables or fruits such as pineapple, sweet pepper and onions. Serve with Cajun mustard or a sweet barbecue sauce.

Perfectly Pan Fried

• Pan fried is fast. Fry sliced, diced or whole sausages in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium heat until the sausages are hot. Turn the sausages into a meal by adding sliced onions and sweet peppers to the pan. Serve nestled in crusty rolls. Or, add chopped tomatoes and a splash of chicken broth or white wine to the mixture and use to top cooked pasta. Turn the sausage into a salad by adding sliced radishes, celery and cooked potatoes. Dress with a bit of oilive oil and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

Simply Simmered

• No muss, no fuss, when you simmer summer sausage. Heat the summer sausage in beer, water or beef broth. Use the sausage as the basis for a stew such as cabbage, carrots and potatoes or for a bean and sausage soup. Saute some onions, garlic and celery. Toss in cubes of the sausage and several cans of beans with their liquid. Add enough broth so the dish has a soup consistency. Simmer for 30 minutes so the flavors blend. If you love jambalaya but prefer a mildly spicy dish, substitute summer sausage for some or all of the andouille sausage.

Beautifully Baked

• When you need to serve a crowd, try baking the summer sausage. Place it in a roasting pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Slice and serve with honey mustard or chipotle-laced ketchup. Cut the sausage into 2-inch long slices to create pigs in a blanket. Wrap refrigerated biscuit dough around the sausage and bake per the biscuit's directions, often 9 to 11 minutes at 350 F. Make the sausage the center of attention by including a whole sausage in a loaf of corn bread before you bake it. Each slice of corn bread gets a coin of sausage.