Hello Rosemari.
I've been canning for the boat for several years. I can meats like ham, turkey, chicken, barbecued chicken, pork, jerk pork, bbq pork, sausage, meatballs, etc.
Also, stuffed green peppers (with sausage filling) and lasagna and taco soup...
It's fun.
For me I use either the 1/2 cup jelly jars or 1 cup wide mouthed jars. Walmart now sells square 1 cup jars with the standard mouth. I like that they are square.
If you're not sure about storage, I would suggest you save socks. Cut off the toes and slide the jars in. Ditto the ankle part. Throw away the heels. Knee socks yield three "cozies" and are cheap -- thrift stores will sometimes give you bunches if you ask them.
For canning instructions, I've got a few pages up on my website. I'd suggest you start on this page:
janice142 topic New in the Galley
My thinking on canning meats is this: The quality of my stuff is far superior to the dollar store variety in that the fat is removed. Also, I avoid salt.
By canning meat I can easily add any fillers I might want. I see no purpose in canning a stew when I can simply open a jar of beef, add potatoes and the like from my ships stores and have something fresh and delicious. Without a lot of refrigerator space I don't worry about having fresh meat ever.
If I want a pork sandwich, I can be eating one in ten minutes. Anything I desire is in a jar ready to open.
It's true that canning jars take space. I devoted one locker exclusively for them. Good Luck.
Oh, and I've got a chicken canning article upcoming (within a week) so be on the lookout for that too, if you're interested rosemari that is.
I just checked for you. Start HERE for the basics:
Janice142 article Canning Primer (Preserving Meats, Part One)
and then move to:
Janice142 article Processing in Pressure Cooker (Preserving Meats, Part Two)
Good luck and have fun.
J