>> title: French Fries
>> category: Fried & Crispy
>> tags: potatoes, fried, side, double fry, stovetop
>> counters: Diner, Meat and Three
>> aka: fries, chips, steak fries, pommes frites, hot chips, french fried potatoes
>> pairs-with: homemade-ketchup
>> servings: 4
>> time: 1 hr 30 min
>> slack: narrow — the thirty minutes of resting between the two fries is the crust; skip it and you have one soft fry and one greasy one
>> washing-up: the frying pot, a bowl to soak the potatoes in, a rack to rest them on

>> step: cut in 3/8-in batons, soak 30 min
Cut @russet potatoes{2%lb}(900 g; peeled or not, in 3/8-in batons) and ~soak{30%min} in @cold water{3%qt}(2.8 L), until the water goes cloudy and then clear.

>> step: blanch at 325°F (165°C) 6 min, until limp and pale
Blanch @&(~1)soaked potatoes{}, dried hard on a towel, in @peanut oil{2%qt}(1.9 L) held at 325°F (165°C) ~fry{6%min}, until limp, pale and cooked through with no colour at all.

>> step: spread out and rest 30 min
Rest @&(~1)blanched fries{} in one layer on a rack ~rest{30%min}, to room temperature or colder.

>> step: fry again at 375°F (190°C) 3 min, until deep gold
Fry @&(~1)rested fries{} again at 375°F (190°C) ~fry{3%min}, in batches small enough that the oil does not drop below 350°F, until deep gold and audibly hard.

>> step: salt them the second they come out
Salt @&(~1)fries{} with @fine sea salt{1%tsp}(6 g) the second they leave the oil, while the surface is still wet enough to hold it.