i grew up eating fish and make it all the time, although this was my first fish soup/chowder (we always fry/bake/grill). after spicing up the base with cayenne and zatarain's cajun seasoning (i didn't have old bay) the base was excellent tasting but i just prefer to eat fish by itself. like i said i've never had fish soup before and i probably never will, it was just weird to eat it in a soup but i still give this 5 stars because the taste was really excellent we just didn't like the chunks of fish

A most enjoyable meal. I did add some hot sauce, I really enjoyed the mixed flavors. But I reduced the bacon to 3 slices, and added no salt because of diet restrictions. Had it for breakfast, dinner and breakfast the next day. WONDERFUL STUFF!

I added thinly sliced leeks, just sauteed with the onion, and it gave the soup tons more flavor.

It was edible but I did not much care for it, neither did my boyfriend. It was very bland with a strong fishy taste. The only good part, we thought, was the bacon.

I am not much of a fan of seafood but recent dietary changes made me explore it. This recipe may convert me to being more of a seafood eater. I made this as presented and then a second time with my tweaks. Either are very good.

Excellent!! I don't know what Maine chowder tastes like, but I just threw in some fish I had in the freezer, thawed it, cut it into 1" cubes and dumped it in the pot. I also added a can of cream style corn and garlic salt. I'll keep this one in my personal recipe box.

Incredibly easy and very tasty. The only thing I did different was I used chicken broth instead of water and I added a little bit of cayenne pepper to give it a bite.

This is it, in its simple glory! (I agree with the reviewer who uses salt pork instead of bacon, though.) If you're looking for "the" Maine fish chowdah recipe, it don't get much closah than this heah.

This was tasty and very easy to make. I only used 1/2 pound of bacon which was plenty.

Very close... If you haven't been pleased with this recipe I suggest these adjustments. For 8 servings, use 4 thin slices of salt pork, cut into small dice and "tried out" i.e. fried on very low heat until the fat is rendered. Discard rendered salty fat and set the crisp pork aside on double layer of paper towel. Try to use salt pork, it's the original ingredient and lends a subtle deliciousness to the chowder. Fish chowder is about sweet fish not salty smoked bacon. If you must use bacon, use only 2 or 3 slices and don't use hickory smoked, maple smoked, apple smoked, honey smoked or any other flavored bacon, but just plain bacon. And render the fat and throw it away because it will be too salty for this soup. Dice the cooked bacon and add as explained further on. Don't try to make chowder in an hour, or even two hours, or even for supper the same day you make it. Chowder's flabor needs time to develop because of its simple ingredients. It's not a dish to rush if you want it to be good. Use Spanish onion (about1 1/2 cups diced)for 8-servings). Sweat the onion for about 5-10 minutes over very low heat using the 2 tablespoons of butter listed in Cathy's recipe. No substitutions - you'll remove the butter later, cross my heart. After onions are softened put them into a pan-sprayed heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, put in the fish which should be in very large pieces (thick fillets cut into 3 pieces each - I buy a big package at Sam's Club and use it all for one chowde