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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Mississippi
Small, spicy tamale made with cornmeal dough filled with seasoned meat, cooked in a spiced broth rather than steamed, and sold by the dozen. It’s the street food most associated with the Mississippi Delta, the home of the blues.
Traditional dish from Mississippi
Also known as: Mississippi Delta hot tamale, hot tamale, red hot
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Delta hot tamale — Mississippi, the United States
In the Mississippi Delta, the cotton plain between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, tamales have their own style. They’re smaller than Latin American tamales, made with cornmeal instead of nixtamalized masa, filled with well-seasoned, spicy beef or pork, and wrapped in corn husk or paper. Instead of being steamed, they’re cooked in a red, spiced broth that colors the dough and gives them the nickname “red hots.”
The origin isn’t known for certain. There are several theories, such as the arrival of Mexican laborers to the cotton plantations in the early 20th century. What is known is that tamales have been in the Delta for generations and even made their way into blues lyrics.
A record compiled by the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute affiliated with the University of Mississippi that collected testimonies from dozens of tamale makers, led to the Hot Tamale Trail, a route of roadside stands, grocery stores, and restaurants in towns like Greenville, Clarksdale, Rosedale, and Vicksburg. Greenville is known as the Delta tamale capital and holds the Delta Hot Tamale Festival in October.
Tamales are sold by the dozen, wrapped in paper or in tins, and eaten with the hands, often with some of the cooking broth and saltine crackers on the side.
Cornmeal dough; filling of ground beef or pork seasoned with chili, cumin, and paprika; corn husk or paper for wrapping; spiced cooking broth.
By the dozen, eaten with the hands, with some of the cooking broth and saltine crackers; sometimes topped with chili.
Year-round; in Greenville, the Delta Hot Tamale Festival takes place in October.
Your questions
It’s a small, spicy tamale made with cornmeal dough filled with meat, cooked in a spiced broth, and sold by the dozen.
The Delta version is smaller, made with cornmeal instead of masa, and cooked in a broth rather than steamed, which gives the dough a reddish color.
It’s a route of tamale stands, grocery stores, and restaurants in the Mississippi Delta, organized based on the Southern Foodways Alliance’s documentation.
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