[TarpitCarnivore]

> I always thought the hackable angle on cooking is patterns. A whole lot of stuff that you might cook for everyday eating is, in fact, a pattern and once you know that, you can riff off whatever is in your fridge.

This isn't "hacking" (loathe this word when used this way) cooking, you've just learned the basic ratios of recipes.

[VLM]

Ah but the hacking is the "messing with ratios" part, not just knowing them.

I slow cooked homemade bbq chicken with a dry rub last weekend. You can play games for your whole life with the ratio of paprika to cayenne. A lot of people are really happy with 1:1:1 ratios of onion garlic chilli but I prefer weaker heat and stronger onion and garlic flavor. Another ratio is brown sugar to salt, I prefer no/low sugar and higher salt, but tastes do vary. I suppose "no sugar" is such extreme hacking, that some might not consider my bbq chicken to be bbq chicken anymore. Oh well.

Another analogy is its like modding a game. (and edited to add, its like design patterns)

[TarpitCarnivore]

Maybe it's just because I cook often, but to me this is the foundations of cooking. You're always changing and tweaking what you're making to suit your needs. What a more smokey taste in the chili add some chipotle and smoked paprika. Want to make that rub sweeter add some more brown sugar.