Pretty Hot Sausage

A sausage maker in Banting whips up some pretty hot stuff.

IT IS not hard to find Hassan Mohammad’s house though it is located in a small signless by-road in Kanchong Darat, Banting, Selangor.

All one has to do is to follow the fragrant whiffs of grilled meat which will lead you directly to this 48-year-old sausage maker’s abode.

Hearty venture: Since it struck a nostalgic chord in him, Hassan went into the sausage business.

“You have to try these hot off the grill. It won’t taste as good once it gets cold,” invited Hassan grinning widely to show off his silver teeth.

He had set up an impromptu barbecue and grilling slowly over red embers of charcoal were a row of nice, fat sausages, all with the fat sizzling within their skins.

Somewhere, at the back of the house, smells of roasting dried meat wafted out to the front and made everyone’s mouth water.

To say ‘no’ to Hassan’s sausages is a very hard thing to do, especially when one has to contend with a juicy cylinder of meat in front of one’s nose.

You see, unlike the frozen supermarket variety, Hassan’s sausages are made of 100% beef and imbued with spices for taste.

The recipe is, of course, a secret which was given to him by his mother, Maislamah Ahmad, 72, who is still residing in Cambodia.

However, the sensitive tongue does detect hints of chillies, five-spice powder and a moderate though not overpowering amount of salt.

In retrospect, what makes Hassan’s sausages so yummy are the chunky bits of fat and tendon present in the filling, which is very similar to the texture of Chinese sausages, albeit Hassan’s ones are fresh and unwaxed.

And Hassan also knows full well what the smells of roasting meat can do for though his sausages are sold raw at the night and farmers’ markets, he would always make it a point to grill some by the side of his stall for sampling and, of course, for sale.

Now for those who may want to question how well Hassan’s sausages may move in such instances, he uses his time at the latest Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Show (MAHA) where he had set up his booth, as a case in point.

Have a bite: Hassan with his wife Sharifah, who helps him with the sausage making.

For the duration of the exhibition which lasted 12 days, Hassan revealed that he had grilled close to 15,000 sausages, which would average to about 1,250 franks sold every day.

But let’s digress. How does one get into the business of making sausages?

In Hassan’s case, it would go back to his days of having to deal with the advancing threat of Khmer Rouge soldiers in his hometown of Praek Pra, near Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Hassan recalled that by age 12 he had to stop school due to the fighting and had spend the rest of his most impressionable years living in refugee camps.

Treats and feasts were rare and far in between but he would always remember that the best tasting rewards that came from his mother would always be her beef sausages.

Not surprisingly, years later, after Hassan had arrived in Malaysia under the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) programme in 1983, the sight of sausages never failed to strike a nostalgic chord with him.

And so, that was how this asylum seeker, who had come here with only RM250 in his name, would decide to embark on a business to make sausages in 1990 after a long stint of selling consumer goods at the pasar malams around Selangor.

“Do you know what kind of skill it takes to clean 1.5 metres of cow intestine?

“First, you have to turn the intestine inside out by hand. Then, you have to scrape the insides clean with a knife and you have to do all this without breaking or puncturing the skin,” said Hassan who will then pump the minced beef into the intestines with a sausage stuffer.

While a picture of Hassan surrounded by cow innards during the preparation of his sausages may not be the cure for sore eyes, this sausage maker revealed that choosing this path has blessed him with a happier life.

Today, Hassan is a father of four as he had saved enough over the years to send for his childhood sweetheart, Sharifah Abdullah, now 40, and ask for her hand in marriage.

He might have even sent for his parents too except that they have insisted on staying put in Praek Pra.

“I am where I am today because of my own endeavours. I started out selling cheap clothes at night markets and went on to running a nasi campur stall before venturing into making sausages.

Roasted dried beef: Another product from Hassan’s sausage venture.

“Very soon, I’ll be building my own factory complete with cold rooms and preparation areas,” said Hassan who has already allocated a plot of land for this project.

And herein, Hassan revealed that there is really no magic formula when it comes to ensuring business growth.

“There must be a proper record of where the money goes. You must know how much you have spent on supplies and how much of profit you have made from it at the end of the day.

“Only then can you determine how much you can allocate for your own personal use and for reinvestment in the business.

“There must always be a clear rule on this. Never be tempted to use money intended for your suppliers for your own expenses with the excuse that you’ll compensate for it the next day. Sooner or later, you’ll mix things up,” was Hassan’s simple advice.

But meanwhile, Hassan’s sausages are grilling and so are his dried roasted meats.

Even then, the possibilities for them are endless, especially for hungry tummies during Ramadan. Think roast beef sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, kebabs ... slurp!

To sink your teeth into Hassan’s sausages, call 016-2921726 or go to 14, Lot 3132, Lorong Gembira, Jalan Kenanga, Kanchong Darat, Banting, Selangor.