Crossword Genius

Savage to devour rook and chicken portion (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

breast

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

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

'savage to devour rook' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'rook' could be 'r' (abbreviation in chess) and 'r' is located in the answer.
'savage' could be 'beast' ('beast' can be a synonym of 'savage') and 'beast' is present in the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'and' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for breast that I've seen before include "Joint of chicken" , "Chicken portion" , "Front of the chest" , "boob" , "Bosom" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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