Serfs consume hot poultry (9)
I believe the answer is:
pheasants
'serfs' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I don't see how they can define each other.
'consume hot poultry' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'hot' could be 'h' (abbreviation eg on taps) and 'h' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'peasants' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pheasants that I've seen before include "Game birds with brightly coloured males" , "Birds at Athens spa" .)