Crossword Genius

Dried out meat in NW English town (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

oldham

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

'town' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'dried out meat' is the wordplay.
'dried out' becomes 'old' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'meat' becomes 'ham' (ham is a kind of meat).
'old'+'ham'='OLDHAM'

'in nw english' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for oldham that I've seen before include "Northern town" , "Town north-east of Manchester" , "Town NE of Manchester, Churchill once its MP" , "Pennine town in Greater Manchester" , "Town near Manchester" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app