Homemade Hot Pastrami Sandwich Recipe

When it comes to pastrami, you either love it or you hate it. For many, it's hard to get past the distinctive, briny flavor. But for others, they would enjoy the powerful punch of flavor that comes from pastrami for every meal if they could. Luckily for pastrami lovers, recipe developer and food photographer Petar Marshall has the perfect recipe to utilize pastrami for lunch every day of the week.

Pastrami is typically made from beef. It has a brine made up of salt and spices that's left to cure the meat, and then it's smoked to perfection. "It's not your typical, everyday sandwich meat everybody goes to, but when served warm with plenty of additional toppings, it plays so well with other flavors, textures, and temperatures," says Marshall.

Served hot on traditional rye bread, this is a beast of a homemade hot pastrami sandwich, but it's packed with plenty of flavor to satisfy any savory craving. Make one on your own for lunch at home, or plan to make several for the whole family to enjoy for dinner.

To get started on making a homemade hot pastrami sandwich on your own at home, it's important to first gather all of the necessary ingredients. Once the pastrami is heated up, the process goes pretty quickly. Having everything prepped and ready will make stacking a delicious sandwich much simpler.

To make this hot pastrami sandwich, you'll need two slices of rye bread, half of a pound of sliced pastrami meat, four slices of Swiss cheese, one tablespoon of stone ground mustard, half of a tablespoon of butter, softened, four slices of tomato, two large pieces of green leaf lettuce, one large dill pickle, and a quarter of a cup of coleslaw.

According to Marshall, the pastrami can be found at most grocery store deli counters. "But if you're up for making your own, a homemade pastrami could be sliced up for the sandwich as well," he says. The same goes for the coleslaw. Utilizing a store-bought mix is totally fine, or you can mix up a batch of coleslaw on your own.

The first step to making your homemade hot pastrami sandwich is to warm up the sliced pastrami meat. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, create a tin foil pouch for the pastrami. "It doesn't have to be anything fancy or a certain shape," says Marshall. "The tin foil just serves as a vessel to be able to warm up the pastrami." 

Wrap the sliced pastrami in the tin foil pouch, and heat it up for ten minutes. While the pastrami is heating up in the oven, toast two slices of rye bread in the toaster or oven.

While the pastrami is heating up in the oven, it's a great time to prep the rest of the veggies and toppings for your sandwich. Slice a tomato into thin slices so you'll have at least four slices for your sandwich. Cut down the pickle to form thin slices. 

Tear the large pieces of leaf lettuce into smaller pieces so it's more manageable when you start to stack your sandwich. Lastly, be sure your coleslaw is prepped and ready if you're mixing it up on your own at home.

Once your veggies are prepped, your toppings are set out, and your pastrami is heated, you're ready to assemble your homemade hot pastrami sandwich. Start by laying the two slices of toasted rye bread down on a flat surface. Using a cutting board or just the countertop works great.

Start the assembly of your sandwich by first spreading the softened butter on each piece of bread. Next, spread the stone ground mustard on one side. "Stone ground mustard is a bit spicier than a traditional or Djion mustard, and it pairs so well with the pastrami," says Marshall. "If you're really a fan of the zing that stone ground mustard adds, feel free to add more to the other side of your sandwich."

On the piece of bread with the mustard, top it with green leaf lettuce, tomato slices, and sliced pickles.

Once you have a good start to your sandwich stack with the condiments, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickle slices added, it's time to add the meat and cheese. Fold pieces of the hot pastrami meat onto the side of the sandwich with all of the vegetables. Marshall used half of a pound of warmed pastrami, but it can vary. "Feel free to use a bit less or even more meat, depending on how hefty of a sandwich you'd like," he says.

Once the meat is added, top it with four slices of Swiss cheese, and then add the coleslaw on top. Once all of the ingredients are stacked on the sandwich, put the second piece of toasted rye bread on top. Be sure to press down slightly so your sandwich comes together. Add a toothpick or a sandwich pick on top to secure the sandwich and hold all of the ingredients together, if needed. Marshall suggests enjoying your homemade hot pastrami sandwich immediately while it's still warm with a pickle and a few potato chips on the side for the ideal lunch.