Crossword Genius

Soak in spirit and ignite meat in empty furnace (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

flambe

'soak in spirit and ignite' is the definition.
(flambe means to cover in spirits and cook)

'meat in empty furnace' is the wordplay.
'meat' becomes 'lamb' (lamb is a kind of meat).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'empty' means to remove the middle letters.
'furnace' with its centre taken out is 'fe'.
'lamb' inserted within 'fe' is 'FLAMBE'.

(Other definitions for flambe that I've seen before include "Served in flames" , "Of food, sprinkled with alcohol and set alight" , "dish on fire" , "Of food, set alight briefly" , "Of food covered with spirits and set alight" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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