Pork belly with caraway cooked in jars

Name: Pork belly with caraway cooked in jars
Yield: 4 jars
Cuisine: Slovak
Ingredients: 3 kg Bone-in, skin-on pork belly; 3 tsp Ground caraway; 2 tsp Ground black pepper; 21 g Salt (per 1 kg of meat); 2 tbsp Water (per 0.7 l jar)

Cubed pork belly seasoned with caraway, salt, and pepper, cooked in jars in a water bath. Makes 4 jars; refrigerate or freeze.

Slovak cuisine · Translated from Slovak · October 24, 2026

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Recipe at a glance

Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 2 hr
Servings: 4 jars
Difficulty: Medium

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Pork belly with caraway cooked in jars is a traditional home recipe for preparing meat ahead to refrigerate or freeze. Cut the boneless pork belly into 2 × 2 cm cubes, season with salt, pepper, and ground caraway, and pack into jars with a little water, topping each with pieces of pork skin. Cook the jars in a water bath at 100 °C (212 °F) for about two hours. The meat keeps in the refrigerator for 3–4 days and can also be frozen, ready for a quick lunch with bread or potatoes.

Ingredients

Bone-in, skin-on pork belly 3 kg
Ground caraway 3 tsp
Ground black pepper 2 tsp
Salt (per 1 kg of meat) 21 g
Water (per 0.7 l jar) 2 tbsp

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Instructions

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Remove the bones from the pork belly and reserve them for another use, such as roasting. Cut off the skin and cut it into larger pieces, approximately 5 × 5 cm.
Cut the meat into 2 × 2 cm cubes and place in a bowl. Add the salt, pepper, and caraway, and mix thoroughly. Scald the jars and boil the lids. Pour the water into the jars, fill with the meat, and place the skin on top. Wipe the rims with a paper towel, close the jars, and place in a water-bath canner. Add enough water to cover the jars completely.
Cook at 100 °C (212 °F) for approximately 2 hours. Remove the jars from the pot, let them stand briefly, and refrigerate within two hours, as recommended by the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Eat the refrigerated meat within 3–4 days, or freeze for 2–6 months, following the US FoodSafety.gov storage chart for cooked meat. Do not store the jars in the pantry: spores of the bacteria that produce botulinum toxin survive even repeated boiling at 100 °C (212 °F). According to the US National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), meat can only be safely canned at home in a pressure canner.
Note: For 2 kg of boneless, skinless pork belly (net weight), use 42 g of salt; the amount is indeed in grams.

Tip: Pack the meat loosely into the jars and leave space at the top, as it will release juices and fat during cooking. For freezing, transfer the cooled meat to smaller containers, as full glass jars could crack in the freezer.

Nutrition facts

Approximate values per 100 g, calculated from the ingredients

Energy: 509 kcal
Protein: 9.2 g
Carbohydrates: 0.2 g
of which sugars: 0.0 g
Fat: 52 g
of which saturates: 19 g
Fiber: 0.1 g
Salt: 0.7 g

Calculated from the raw ingredients, without frying oil. Where an amount is “to taste”, typical amounts are used. Food composition: USDA FoodData Central and product labels.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Bravčový bôčik s rascou varený v pohároch