How to encrypt a large file in openssl using public key

Generate a symmetric key because you can encrypt large files with it

openssl rand -base64 32 > key.bin

Encrypt the large file using the symmetric key

openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -salt -in myLargeFile.xml \
  -out myLargeFile.xml.enc -pass file:./key.bin

Encrypt the symmetric key so you can safely send it to the other person

openssl rsautl -encrypt -inkey public.pem -pubin -in key.bin -out key.bin.enc

Destroy the un-encrypted symmetric key so nobody finds it

shred -u key.bin
or: gshred -u key.bin 

At this point, you send the encrypted symmetric key (key.bin.enc) and the encrypted large file (myLargeFile.xml.enc) to the other person

The other person can then decrypt the symmetric key with their private key using

openssl rsautl -decrypt -inkey private.pem -in key.bin.enc -out key.bin

Now they can use the symmetric key to decrypt the file

openssl enc -d -aes-256-cbc -in myLargeFile.xml.enc \
  -out myLargeFile.xml -pass file:./key.bin

And you're done. The other person has the decrypted file and it was safely sent.