Policeman holding hot piece of meat (4)
I believe the answer is:
chop
'piece of meat' is the definition.
(e.g. a lamb chop)
'policeman holding hot' is the wordplay.
'policeman' becomes 'cop' (slang term).
'holding' indicates putting letters inside.
'hot' becomes 'h' (abbreviation eg on taps).
'cop' placed around 'h' is 'CHOP'.
(Other definitions for chop that I've seen before include "Chinese seal" , "Small cut of meat" , "Cut by blow of axe" , "Karate punch" , "Thick slice of meat, often with rib" .)