The traditional ingredients in a pastrami sandwich are quite simple: hand-carved pastrami, deli mustard and rye bread. The rye bread is preferably baked fresh in your own oven, or at least picked up from a corner deli that makes it on the premises. The bread is sliced thick to accommodate the pile of pastrami stacked as high as your mouth can open.

Bumping up against the edge of tradition, pastrami lovers who embrace the culinary deconstructionist movement dare to experiment with the age-old art of constructing the sandwich. By using bread other than rye, pastrami gains a whole new following of eaters who don't care for rye bread. A sturdy whole-wheat bread alters the flavor, but not the consistency. Even more adventurous foodies experiment with pan-fried gnocchi made with rye and bread flours.