Review: And You Can Too!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 28, 2013
If it is jams or pickles that you want to put up, recipes are a dime a dozen and safe, reliable directions not hard to come by.  If you happen to have a large garden or a great source of local impeccably fresh veg or just struck the fisherman's equivalent of gold, safe reliable instruction in how to preserve your bounty other than throwing it in the freezer is not so easy to come by, as meat and non-acid vegetables must be put up in a pressure canner.If you follow my  reviews, you know that I am a bear about food safety in canning (you can die from improperly processed home canned food!), so I was delighted to read Jennifer Shambrook's impeccably detailedI CAN CAN CHICKEN!! How to home can chicken to save money and time with quick, easy, tasty family recipes (I Can Can!! Frugal Living Series).  Not only are her instructions for pressure canning right on the money, she also discusses the economics involved, suggests strategies for filling up space in the canner and gives recipes using the final product.Inside you'll find a thorough discussion of necessary equipment, crystal clear instructions for both cold pack (Jennifer uses boneless chicken breast) and hot pack (Jennifer uses leg & thigh quarters, which her family calls "chicken hips") canning, as well as putting up your own chicken stock (stock is more concentrated than broth), along with a variety of recipes for Southern-style soups, stews, salads and "hot dishes" to use up the proceeds.  Jennifer also maintains a Facebook page for this book, where you'll find still more recipes.Jennifer, who also authoredThe Cornbread Bible: A Recipe Storybook, has a wonderful chatty writing style that makes for an interesting read.  This particular volume also includes a number of illustrative pictures, including pictures for all of the recipes.Grandma's $0.02 -  Canning can be a great way to save a ton of money on your grocery bill, as long as it is properly done with an eye to the economics involved.  If you have the space to store a large canner and the number of jars you'll be using,I CAN CAN CHICKEN!!is a great introduction and a money-saving place to start.  Highly recommended.PS - Grandma did find several places in the text where Jennifer talks about timing or labeling beef rather than chicken.  The timing is the same and I"m sure that Jennifer will correct the errors ASAP. (locations 320, 785)