Definitely get the Ball Canning book. And if you google Home Canning you will get more info than you ever wanted. There is nothing difficult about a pressure canner, especially the newer ones with gauges, etc. You can boil meat in a hot water bath for as many hours a you want and the meat will never get hot enough to kill the botulism. Our mothers and grandmothers were lucky with their canning. And they did have things spoil. I remember as a kid dumping many jars of stinky spoiled vegies. Canning meat is not a necessity but it tastes better than anything out of a freezer.