"British bacon" is back bacon, the same as Canadian bacon. It's much more akin to a slice of ham than belly bacon, which is where American (or "streaky" as the Brits call it) bacon comes from. So it's a little harder to crisp up without adding fat I imagine. But I'd also suggest that we Americans over-cook our bacon. It should really never be hard. If you hold it at one end, it shouldn't stand up straight. At this point you've basically burnt the meat. It's a funny thing, because we wouldn't cook any other meat to that degree of done-ness. And it's so much more flavorful if you stop it a minute or two sooner.