Every other month, the cheery folks at "Great Day St. Louis" invite me on the show to cook something using beer as an ingredient. Today's recipe was one of my favorites yet: beer-soaked fries that you bake, not fry.

I discovered the recipe from The Edible Perspective when a friend posted it on Twitter a few months ago.

The spuds turn out great no matter what kind of beer you use -- I've experimented with pilsners, Belgian-style ales, India pale ales, saisons and more. Today I used Cast Iron Brown Ale, a roasty, smooth brew from the new 4 Hands Brewing Co. in St. Louis.

My theory is that beer's natural sugars help promote browning in the oven, making the fries crispy on the outside, pillowy on the inside, like you expect from the deep-fried version.

The video from today's segment is posted here.

Beer-Soaked Fries with Garlic

Serves 4 as a side dish