You are the first person ever to know about cooking kraut that way. Although I’m a NO on the caraway. Even brought a dish to a kraut potluck at our parish years ago. There were about 15-20 different dishes mine was the only one like this. And people said they had never heard of it before. My Dad always made it this was with pork, although with stuffed cabbage and short ribs it was the wet pot method.
I think making it in the juices of the meat enhances the flavor for both the kraut and the meat, be it pork or franks. It’s a little bit like deglazing the pan with wine or some other liquid, don’t you think?