Fat once put with odd bits of lard for cooking (9)
I believe the answer is:
corpulent
'fat' is the definition.
('corpulent' can be similar in meaning to 'fat')
'once put with odd bits of lard for cooking' is the wordplay.
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'odd bits of' indicates alternate letters.
'for cooking' is an anagram indicator.
The alternating letters of 'lard' are 'lr'.
'once'+'put'+'lr'='onceputlr'
'onceputlr' is an anagram of 'CORPULENT'.
(Other definitions for corpulent that I've seen before include "Plump" , "Having a bulky body, fat" , "Portly" , "stout" , "Overweight" .)