You will need: Rotisserie with grill spit device
Top heat: approx. 200-220°C
Preheating: approx. 15 minutes
Working hours: 10 minutes
Barbecue time: approx. 40-50 minutes (depending on weight)

Ingredients

• fresh mackerel, char or trout (preferably the same size and already gutted)
  approx. 350-400g
• a little lemon juice
• Salt
• white pepper from the mill
• Paprika powder
• some sunflower oil
• some melted butter to taste

Insert the rotisserie with the rotisserie spit device into the Merklinger.

Heat the Merklinger to approx. 200-220°C. You need a nice glow in your Merklinger for the Steckerlfische.
Push the fire all the way to the back so that no fat can drip into the embers and the fish are not directly above the fire. To control the temperature, add a log at the very back every now and then during grilling.

First place the fish on the skewers. Insert the skewer through the mouth to behind the head. Now it goes under the bones along the backbone towards the tail fin. At the end, insert the skewer through the middle of the tail fin and the fish is ready to go back into the "open air".

Season the belly area of the fish with salt, pepper and paprika and sprinkle with lemon juice. Rub the fish skin well with salt, pepper and paprika and brush with oil.
Place the skewers in the grill skewer device.

First grill the fish for approx. 20 minutes with the back facing downwards. Turn the skewers over and grill the fish for a further 20 minutes with the belly facing downwards. To make the fish skin nice and crispy, the sides are added briefly at the end.

For an even crispier skin, you can brush them with melted, salted butter just before the end of grilling.

If the dorsal fin can be pulled out easily, the plug fish are ready.

To make it easier to remove the skewer before serving, it is best to place a piece of paper around the fish. This gives you a better grip and allows you to remove it from the skewer without damaging it.

Tip:
Do you have any square wooden skewers for fish plugs to hand? Wonderful! It's important that you water them well beforehand so that they don't catch fire.

Tip:
Alternatively, you can place the skewers with the fish upside down in the skewer device, as the heat is higher at the back of the cooking space. (Of course, you then have to start with the tail fin when skewering).