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.

Great cast iron, long handles, cool design!

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.

This is a great pan. This is the 5th one I've purchased. I gave it just a few coats of extra seasoning and it became a beautiful deep black color. I like the smoother texture in the pan as well. It reminds me of the black lock series. Not rough, but not baby butt smooth either. The perfect texture for a good feel with a spatula and enough to hold on to seasoning.

Very nice casting. I sand and polish the interior of my cast iron skillets to make them truly non-stick. The Victoria skillets have no bubbles in the iron (compared to Lodge which has many bubbles) so it's less work to get a "smooth as glass" flat finish. The Day of the Dead pattern on the bottom is a piece of art.

Great value, great quality Seasoned it several times manually + used it every 1-2 days - got nearly non stick in 10 days Recommend it!

Bought skillet for daughter's Mother's Day gift. She collects & uses Dia de Los Muertos themed items in kitchen. Nice pattern on bottom of skillet. Skillet , of course, is excellent!

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.

Good quality, exactly what I expected

Looks cool, good pre-seasoning. Having fun using this pan.

Prodotto eccelso, attenzione al lavaggio!

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