Said angrily “It spluttered when cooking” (4)

I believe the answer is:

spat

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'spluttered when cooking' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'said angrily it' is the wordplay.
'said angrily' becomes 'spa' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'it' becomes ''t' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis).
'spa'+'t'='SPAT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for spat that I've seen before include "Slight argument" , "Pat's involved in petty quarrel" , "Contretemps" , "angry words" , "Bickering" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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