Feijoada

Method

1. 1The day before, soak the black beans in plenty of cold water for 8 to 12 hours, and separately soak the carne seca in the fridge for 24 hours, changing the water three or four times. Without that, the finished pot is inedibly salty and no amount of dilution fixes it.
2. 2Cut the desalted carne seca and the pork belly into 4 cm pieces and blanch them with the ribs in boiling water for 10 minutes, counted from when the water returns to a boil, then drain and discard that water. This takes out surface salt and a good part of the rendered fat that would otherwise sit on top of the stew.
3. 3Drain the beans, put them in a large heavy pot with the bay leaves and cold water about 4 cm above the surface, bring to a boil and then drop to the barest simmer for 1 hour, skimming the foam in the first 10 minutes.
4. 4Add the carne seca, ribs and pork belly and simmer another hour, topping up with hot water only if the beans become exposed. The pot should never boil hard, which breaks the beans and clouds the broth.
5. 5Add the paio and calabresa whole and cook 30 minutes more, by which time the beans should crush easily against the side of the pot, the meat should pull away from the rib bones and a piece of carne seca should pull apart between two forks; if it still resists, keep simmering.
6. 6Make the refogado: fry the chopped onion and garlic in the oil until golden, then ladle in a cupful of beans and mash them into the pan before returning everything to the pot. That mashed portion is what thickens the broth, so nothing else is needed to bind it.
7. 7Simmer uncovered 30 minutes, salt only now, and let the pot rest 30 minutes off the heat. Lift the sausages and meats out with a slotted spoon, slice them, return them to the pot, and serve with orange segments on the side.