Victoria 12-Inch Day of the Dead La Calaca Cast Iron Skillet, Dia de los Muertos Seasoned Cast Iron Frying Pan with Long Handle, Made in Colombia

This is a really nice piece of durable cast iron. I have owned the Victoria 2qt saucepan for about a year and really like the quality, so I chose to try a Victoria skillet when I decided to add a 2nd 10" skillet to go with my Lodge. The out-of-the-box seasoning was pretty good, with a little more oil than I'd usually use, I was able to cook pancakes with no sticking. However, it took a few cycles of seasoning myself in the oven before it was cooking eggs. The factory finish is much smoother than a modern Lodge (on par with my lightly sanded and well used one), which with a few layers of seasoning, makes it a breeze to clean with just hot water and a stiff brush. It is also a little over a pound lighter than my Lodge (4.7lb/2120g vs. 5.8lb/2619g), which along with the slightly longer handle makes it easier to move around, could be an important factor for some people. I went with the decorative design because its the perfect size to display in a small space on my kitchen wall when not in use, looks better than a plain smooth pan, the design is pretty detailed as well.

This review is for the "Victoria 10-Inch Day of the Dead La Catrina Cast Iron Skillet, Dia de los Muertos Seasoned Cast Iron Frying Pan with Long Handle, Made in Colombia" I purchased this skillet to replace a #8 Wegner which developed a low spot in the middle. The Dia de los Muertos "La Catrina" version of this pan was a few dollars cheaper than the plain pan. The seasoning from the factory appeared to be good, but I'm a careful sort, and did some more seasoning with flaxseed oil bringing the final temperature up to 475 F. So far, the pan has had no instances of food sticking with omelettes, fritatas (started on the stove, finished in the oven), and crustless quiches (cooked entirely in the oven). The heat was very evenly distributed over the cooking surface using my induction stove and an infrared heat imaging device. The standard handle was a bit longer than the handles on the Lodge pan, and the second handle makes it easier to move from the stovetop to the oven and grab out of the oven to serve. This pan is just a tad smaller than the similarly sized 2-handled Lodge pan. The cooking surface was not milled (ie not perfectly smooth), but it cooked and cleaned easily with no issues. The "La Catrina" Dia de los Muertos figure on the bottom was a nice added touch. This pan is competitively priced with Lodge, usually a few dollars less.

I bought this pan looking to replace my Lodge Blacklock 12" mainly because I just don't like the handle on the pan. I have read a lot about Victoria cast iron and the handle being better so I and wanted Victoria a shot. I'm glad I did. The seasoning is as others have described it as excellent. It cooks very well as any cast iron and I found it very easy to clean. And the main thing the handle is way better as I was hoping for. This pan is obviously heavier than the Blacklock but in spite the weight it's more comfortable to handle. I'm very pleased with purchase.

So pretty, amazing quality, cleans up well. I recently purged out more harmful cookware and replaced them with stainless steel and cast iron.

Good cast iron skillet. Cooks evenly and is a fair price. The preseasoning is good, you will still need to season yourself obviously but it is a great start.

This lives on my stove and gets almost constant use. Decent price, It keeps well so long as you make sure to treat it nicely with some high heat oil to prevent it from getting any rust. The design is great. I would recommend applying your own cast iron seasoning to it before using it.

"Day of the Dead ", Yes, CAwsomeook a Good Steak 🥩. Awesome!!!!!

The pan is beautiful. I love the skull design. The only negative is the box. The pan arrived with the handle sticking OUT of the ripped up side of the box. There is no foam or packing peanuts included, so the pan just slides around in it.

Beautiful and well constructed. I really didn't need to buy it but loved the "La Catrina". I have the regular 10.5 inch pan from Victoria which is great as well. You can use it for BBQ, grill, camp fires and any cooking surface. Although, I find that the regular works better with induction tops than La Catrina design maybe because of the groves and not 100% flat bottom (more like 97%) almost not noticeable. Both well maintained should last a lifetime and then some. Made in Colombia not the U.S. or China, that is a plus for Canadians. I couldn't find a local manufacturer unfortunately

the pan is rusting,very poor quality

Great pan well pre seasoned with nice design work good with a fairly smooth surface..

Love this pan. I’m new to using cast iron and went with this over the Lodge equivalent due to the longer handle. I didn’t give myself a chance to master making the original surface non stick. I ended up sanding the cooking surface down with 80 grit and seasoning after a couple of uses and eggs welded to the metal. It made an immediate difference an I use this pan to fry eggs every morning with no sticking at all. It’s a heavy piece of kit but I like this and the design is fun. Shipping from the states was just over a week.

Perfecta