I was reading Girl, Corrupted about her lovely Everything Bagel and it reminded me of when I worked in a donut shop and we made an everything donut called Chop Suey.
I worked the night shift on weekends while I was in college in Iowa. It was a nicely sized Donutland which was the Midwestern equivalent of Winchells. I arrived at 11 pm and worked until 7 am. By the time I started my shift the donut making was in full swing and didn’t end until about 2 or 3 am.
For the most part I like the work. Since we were open 24 hrs we got a trickling of late night customers before and after the bars closed at 1 am. Then the cops showed up about an hour later after dealing with the drunks after the bars closed. Yes, cops do love coffee and donuts, especially in the early am hours! Lastly, the morning rush usually started about 5:30 am.
Oh, but I never sat down on my 8 hour shift! In between helping customers I was on donut decoration duty. I frosted all the cake donuts chocolate or white icing. I sprinkled or covered in peanuts those individual specialties. I coated in powdered sugar cake donuts and rolled in granulated sugar yeast donuts. I filled with jelly or cream a butt-load of tasty treats! And I glazed and glazed and glazed!
Then I’d cleaned up the mess left behind by the nights assembly line of donut making. A process which was fascinating.
Yeast donuts were first because I think they had to rise a bit. When the dough was ready it was put on a conveyor belt that ran it through a machine that flattened it. Then it was run again through the same machine but this time the blades were attached to the roller. The blades cut either donut shapes or long shapes for cream filled or twists. Meanwhile the maker was busy plucking donut holes out & gathering up the extra dough, which went into a pile to run through the machine again. When you couldn’t get another decent roll out of the leavings they were set aside.. for Chop Suey.
The yeast donuts were fried in a giant deep fryer, probably 4′ x 4′ i n size and they were flipped with what honestly looked like a musician’s drum sticks! When they were cooked to a golden brown on both sides, the hidden mesh rack was hooked and brought out of the fryer, bringing all the finished donuts with it. Set to cool, another rack was put in and the next batch processed. There always was a little competition between the Maker and the Fryer to see if one could get ahead of the other.
When the yeast was finished it was time for the cake donuts. Cherry, Chocolate, plain, Orange, Blueberry, each had its own batch made. And each had leftovers that was scrapped into a pile to be added to Chop Suey. See to make the cake donut you poured the cake-like batter into a contraption above the fryer. Turning a crank allowed a donut sized ring of batter to drop out the bottom. You cranked and cranked until the vat was full, then you turned the donuts with the drum sticks and lifted them out when they were cooked. Batch after batch until all the flavors were done.
The yeast donut Maker finished, cleaned up and went home when the Fryer was still only half way through the cake donuts. And I was busy glazing and sugaring away, prepping all the donuts for easy displace in the case. Trays and trays on rolling racks. Rack and rack filled the back kitchen.
And when the last cake donut was made ALL the scraps were put into a bowl and run through the mixer. A couple scoops of Apple filling was added and they were hand fed into the fryer. I think the maximum we ever made in one night was 12 and there were never any left over at the end of the day. They were our biggest (about 4″ across) and most expensive donut and they looked like a burnt cow patty! But they tasted incredible.
I was always proud of that donut shop. All the day olds were donated to a shelter and we delivered a lot of bulk orders to churches, senior centers and, well, fraternities & sororities! It was owned by an energetic black man in his 40’s who was a great boss to work for.
I don’t know if it was the franchise Donutland that came up with Chop Suey or the owner, but I’ve never been able to find its equivilent in any donut shop. I’m amazed I didn’t gain a thousand pounds there! Cuz every so often I’d get the Maker and the Fryer to make me a batch of donut holes which I would cover in powerdered sugar.
YUM!