Ham, hard and chewy? Not at first (5)

I haven't cracked this one yet — but the brilliant team at Fifteensquared have:

H (abbreviation for hard) + [t] OUGH (chewy) without its first letter (not at first). A variant form of hock = a joint in the back leg of an animal, or a cut of meat from this area, which is called “ham” if it’s from a pig.