I made the chowder tonight. It was just delish! Only changes were dried parsley instead of fresh and some garlic powder. My husband even requested leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
I used American bacon. It was all I could find. Although I bought organic bacon without all the additives. I rarely eat bacon except when I'm in Ireland - for breakfast. In the recipe he used streaky bacon. Streaky bacon is bacon with more fat in it than the usual Irish bacon. So that would be more like American bacon.
After I added the liquids I cooked it down at a good simmer for about 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) while I made biscuits to go with it.
It made two hearty sized bowls of soup with leftovers for lunch for one.