American soldier received cut of meat (5)
I believe the answer is:
gigot
'cut of meat' is the definition.
(gigot is a kind of cut of meat)
'american soldier received' is the wordplay.
'american soldier' becomes 'GI' (informal term for a US soldier).
'received' becomes 'got' ('get' can be a synonym of 'receive').
'gi'+'got'='GIGOT'
(Other definitions for gigot that I've seen before include "Perceive by touch" , "A bit of mutton" , "joint of meat" , "Mutton or lamb leg" .)