Buccaneer puts rodent in baked dish (6)
I believe the answer is:
pirate
'buccaneer' is the definition.
(historical term for a pirate)
'rodent in baked dish' is the wordplay.
'rodent' becomes 'rat' (rat is a kind of rodent).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'baked dish' becomes 'pie' (I've seen this before).
'rat' put within 'pie' is 'PIRATE'.
'puts' is the link.
(Other definitions for pirate that I've seen before include "Maritime robber" , "Illegally-copied (version)" , "Criminal on the high seas" , "Sea raider" , "Robber on the high seas" .)