‘Sinners’ Gave a Shoutout to a Southern Culinary Icon—Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales, a Proud Tradition With Deep Roots
The Mississippi Delta tamales, also called hot tamales, are on everyone’s minds now thanks to “Sinners.” The horror movie shows audiences a brief look at a culinary history that many do not know. It is a signal to audiences of deep cultural authenticity considering when the film takes place. Based in 1932, the movie takes place when Mississippi Delta tamales were more than a novel item. By this time, they were a staple in Black homes brought to the region by Mexican laborers looking for work.
“Sinners” is bringing forward Mississippi culinary history steeped in Mexican and Black cultures colliding
The movie shows a tamal restaurant situated next to a fried catfish restaurant. It might seem like it is out of place or historically inaccurate, but the truth is that it’s not. Tamales have a long history in the Mississippi Delta, where “Sinners” takes place. They first appeared in the late 1800s and early 1900s when Mexican laborers were looking for work on cottonfields. This is the most widely accepted theory as to how tamales came to Mississippi.
Like so many iconic foods from around the world, the Mississippi Delta tamales are a perfect blending of two cultures. Mexican migrant laborers came to Mississippi and brought with them tamales. The food is something that is easy to carry and filling. Most importantly, for Black and Mexican families, the food is also affordable.
“Some hypothesize that tamales made their way to the Mississippi Delta in the early twentieth century when migrant laborers from Mexico arrived to work the cotton harvest. African Americans who labored alongside Mexican migrants recognized the basic tamal ingredients: cornmeal and pork,” said Amy C, Evans, a Southern Foodways Alliance oral historian. “Others maintain that the Delta history with tamales goes back to the U.S.-Mexican War one hundred years earlier, when U.S. soldiers traveled to Mexico and brought tamal recipes home with them. Others still argue that tamales date to the Mississippian culture of mound-building Native Americans.”
Mississippi Delta tamales have the same components but a southern flavor
Where traditional tamales are more rectangular, hot tamales are cylindrical and the size of a cigar. They are still wrapped in corn husk and include cornmeal. Black laborers appreciated the ease of eating and transporting the tamales. Over time, they reinvented the recipe to pump up the flavor to bring a deeper southern identity to the dish.
The quintessential Mississippi Delta handheld food is also prepared differently. We’ve all seen family and friends use the big steamer every Christmas to make enough tamales to feed an army. Yet, for the Mississippi Delta tamales, they are boiled to cook.
The inclusion of a hot tamales restaurant in “Sinners” adds an authenticity to the movie that is sweeping the box office. The story has compelled moviegoers to fill theater seats in a slowly dying movie viewing experience. The subtle and quiet nod to the rich blending of Black and Mexican culture in southern cuisine should fill us with pride
“Sinners” is currently in theaters. The movie has grossed more than $230 million in the box office so far. This is a significant win for the creators of the movie as an original, R-rated horror movie. It is also another reminder to Hollywood that stories of color and original movies are worth investing in over white-washed superhero franchises, but that’s a discussion for another time.
