Cured fish left in straw hat (7)

I believe the answer is:

bloater

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'cured fish' is the definition.
'bloater' can be an answer for 'fish' (bloater is a kind of fish). I'm unsure of the 'cured' bit.

'left in straw hat' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'straw hat' becomes 'boater' (synonyms).
'l' inserted within 'boater' is 'BLOATER'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bloater that I've seen before include "Cured herring" , "Buckling" , "Something fishy" , "Fish" , "Herring salted and smoked" .)

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.