Sitting out the back of Burns' restaurant kitchen is a 300 kilogram cast-iron smoker, an American-style monster barbecue imported from Kansas, loaded with mouth-watering meat.

It is not exactly what you would expect to see in your average bistro kitchen, but then Burns' Heritage Kitchen is not serving just any old bistro food.

For the first time in the Illawarra, American barbecue-style smoked pork sausages, spice-rubbed brisket rolls and chicken wings can be found among the compulsory schnitzels, steaks and chips.

Burns invested in the Yoder Wichita smoker after becoming fascinated by the sweet wooded flavours and tender meat he tasted travelling through North Carolina with some American friends.

"They took us to this place just outside of town called Allen and Son and it was this old, beaten-up diner where they serve American barbecue and I loved it," he says.

"It's a totally different way of cooking meat than people do in Australia and it just gets an amazing result.

"It just spawned a bit of interest for me because it was something different than I'd ever tasted and it was just something I'd never experienced in all my time being taught the fundamentals of cooking as a chef."

Many of the meat cuts are rubbed with a combination of spices, before they are cooked in the smoker for up to 12 hours at 90-100 degrees.

Fruit-flavoured woods like applewood are generally used to cook, giving the smoke a sweet flavour.

Burns, who has worked as head chef at Wollongong's foodie hangouts Diggies, Lee & Me and Dagwood, says he opened the Heritage Kitchen at Bulli's Heritage Hotel to give diners a more exciting bistro experience.

"We just wanted to offer an experience like no other in the Illawarra; we wanted to do something unique," he says.

Burns will showcase the American barbecue flavour when he puts on two whole pigs for the "Damn, that's delicious" craft beer dinner he is hosting in conjunction with the Illawarra Brewing Company on Friday.

The dinner, which will feature five craft beers paired with a number of smoked and non-smoked dishes, is a tribute to "real cooking, real eating and real people doing game-changing stuff with beer and food".

The dinner costs $75 per person. For bookings, phone 4285 2430.