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1
Place the soaked, drained fabes in a large, deep pot. Add the compango — morcilla, chorizo, lacón, and tocino — whole and without cutting. Cover with cold water by at least 5 cm. Begin heating from cold. The cold start is absolute: beans dropped into boiling water will break their skins immediately.
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2
Bring the pot slowly to a bare simmer — never a boil. Skim any foam that rises in the first 20 minutes. The surface must show only the faintest tremor throughout the cook. A vigorous boil breaks the fabes apart before they cook through.
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3
When the liquid first threatens to bubble actively, administer the first 'susto' (fright): add a ladleful of cold water to arrest the boil. Repeat this intervention whenever the simmer becomes too lively. The beans must never dance in the pot — movement breaks them. The dish lives or dies here: sustained gentle heat is the single condition from which the stew cannot recover if broken.
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4
In the final hour of cooking, add the slice of day-old bread soaked in cold water. It will dissolve into the broth over the hour, providing a natural, unctuous body. No starch is added. The broth should coat the back of a spoon lightly by the end of the cook.
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5
In the final 30 minutes, add the saffron. The broth should take on a warm golden hue and a faint floral aroma, distinct but not dominant.
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6
Remove the compango whole. Slice each piece — morcilla, chorizo, lacón, tocino — and return the slices to the pot. The sausages and cured meats remain identifiable as distinct elements rather than collapsing into the broth. Remove from heat.
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7
Allow the stew to cool fully, then rest overnight. The beans will absorb the surrounding broth and all flavours will equilibrate. On the second day, the broth is darker, the beans silkier, and the fat from the compango fully integrated. Reheat gently to serve, never boiling. The dish is categorically better after this rest.