Cut the fat into dice not more that an inch. Place them in  roasting pans in your regular oven at about 350 degrees F.  It will smell like roast pork. You will want the rendered fat to be free of bubbles which will indicate that there is no water left in the melted fat. The presence of water will accelerate the spoilage of the lard, it must be dry. The tissue will be lightly browned and very shriveled. This is call cracklins. Remove them with a slotted spoon while they are still hot. BE CAREFUL! Those are good to use in cracklin biscuits ( you don't have a cholesterol problem) Allow the lard to cool a bit and pour into tubs. You can't rush the project. Make some pie crust.  If you have different types of fat i.e. organ fat versus subcutanious fat render them separately. They will have different melting temperatures and textures.

Edit to add: Cut some squares with the skin attached and salt them for salt pork for you baked beans. salt pork recipe on line.

Five gallons of water will weigh about forty pounds so unless the pails are firmly packed there is probably between fifty and seventy-five pounds of fat involved here which is why I suggested that some be cured as salt pork. .

The smokey salt may make it a bit like bacon but with a little lean in it that should be alright. Please check on line for the amount of salt to use so that you don't over salt the product.  Rendering fat is a slow process because you don't want to scorch anything and get a burnt bitter taste. Where you are living your back porch may be a very large refrigerator at this time of the year. Right now i have 2 gallons of goose stock in a pot on the porch.

I just went on a mini search about rendering lard and found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard

Wet or dry rendering are both valid methods for the job and they yield somewhat different results.

Pete , Thank you for those links. I haven't bought shortening in fifteen or twenty years. I use rendered pork fat or poultry fat for all of my baking.

I found that if I leave a jar of melted lard out at room temperature it stratifies with the harder components settling to the bottom of the jar and a nice clear oil is left on top.

I use rendered poultry fat for most of my pastry. it is liquid at room temps so I keep it in the fridge and my flour for pastry in the freezer. Working very quickly I blend the flour and fat before the fat has time to start melting. That isn't  a problem with lard. The can of bacon fat is the supply for the fat in muffins and for greasing the pans with a smal paint brush.

Crisco will also go south after a time.

What ever method you try for rendering don't use a directly on the stove top burner approach. You don't need a gallon of hot grease catching fire. I rather like the crock pot approach. Just a nice long gentle process with a small risk of burns. I often skim with a large soup ladle .

I have also found this. It is an interesting read even if you never have occassion to cut up and cure an entire pig. http://www.motherearthnews.com…..spx?page=1

Helen , the article is full of good ideas. There is some disagreement with Mortons concerning the proper curing temperatures. But the source for an old refrigerator might be your local appliance store. They will haul away your old fridge when you buy a new one. I often encounter families that are remodeling their kitchen and changing perfectly good appliances for more stylish ones.