Steamed Poultry

Although recipes for steamed poultry are less common than those for roasting, poaching, or braising, the technique has several advantages over these other methods. Chicken can be steamed in a couscoussière, which has a wide-mouthed pot for the steaming liquid and a second pot with a perforated base that fits on top of the pot of boiling liquid and holds the meat. Poultry, however, should not be steamed in an industrial steamer, which uses pressure and temperatures above the boiling point. These steamers generate too much liquid of their own and make it impossible to capture any juices released by the steaming meats.