With the American Queen docked at Natchez for the day, I rode the hop-on, hop-off tour bus into town, where I found another stop on my quest for Mississippi tamales: Fat Mama's Tamales.
I ordered six tamales, the minimum, although I knew I wouldn't be able to finish them. (I declined the offer of a knock-you-naked Margarita. I didn't want to scare anyone.)
The counterman handed me a basket of Saltines and a jumbo bottle of Tabasco sauce. I took them, wondering why I needed either. I like spicy food, but the tamales didn't need any Tabasco. They were already plenty hot, just leaving a happy tingling on my palate. I figured out that the Saltines were intended to dilute any excess heat, but they weren't necessary without any added heat from Tabasco.
These were different from the tamales I ate in D'Iberville, near Biloxi. They contained a mixture of beef and pork, were made with masa instead of cornmeal and were wrapped in dried corn husks. But like the D'Iberville tamales, they were simmered in liquid instead of steamed, and the spices were mixed into the dough as well as the filling.
The tamales were small, and I ate four, then walked off my lunch getting back to the boat.
