Victoria Cast Iron Skillet Preseasoned 12"

This is a great skillet! 😁 Cooked some fried rice and it tasted really good compared to just a regular pan. The food did not stick to the pan and heats really well on a induction stove top.

Excelente sarten a ub precio insuperable. La cara interior es bastante lisa y suave a diferencia de otros sartenes de hierro con la superficie muy rugosa... Una vez que lo curas bien y en serio tienes k hacerlo bien ( recomiendo manteca de cerdo ) puedes hacer lo que sea en el, filetes, hamburguesas, pizzas, etc. Yo lo uso mucho para cocinar en el asador con leña o carbón. Inconvenientes: es muy pesado y tienes kcsaber cuidarlo como a rodo lo de hierro.
Recomiendo esta marca.

I am pleased with the skillet. It came pre-seasoned with flaxseed oil, and I added three home-made treatments with avocado oil before using it. I bought it mainly to make pizzas.

I'd always missed cooking with the cast iron I grew up with at home, vintage stuff my mom had for decades. It was just lighter and smoother than Lodge and generally far nicer to work with. But paying for the kind of boutique brands that try to replicate vintage cast iron performance costs a frankly silly amount—and I've never really turned up any great finds in yard sales or thrift shops while any good vintage pieces have pretty inflated prices, too.

I've now got three Victorias after stumbling across an 8 in a store, getting to hold it, and being really impressed. It's not quite vintage level fit and finish, but it is thinner and lighter than Lodge and has a far better finish than any non-boutique modern cast iron I've seen—and that's consistent across the 8, 10 grill pan, and now 12 I've got. Comparing them to vintage stuff, they may not be fully polished but they are closer to that than the rough surface you get with Lodge (or any other cheap non-boutique options). I see older reviews saying Victoria's finish is comparable to Lodge or just slightly better and that just doesn't reflect my experience—unless you're talking about Lodge Blacklock stuff that costs twice as much.

The chef style handles are also a major plus—over most vintage cast iron as well. You'll still need a mit or cloth to move it once it really heats up because, you know, cast iron. But ease of handling is genuinely far improved by the ergonomics. To the point it's hard not to wonder why proper handles aren’t more common with cast iron. Don't personally get much use out of the pour spouts, but the grooved lip should help those that do.

Now, what isn't it? Like any cast iron, it isn't magic. Clearly some people expect a teflon experience on day one when you're going to need to build up the coating and even then you're probably going to always need a bit of oil for whatever you're frying—just typically less than with stainless, and with a far better ability to sear/caramelize/create fond than in any other cookware, along with better heat retention and an ability to go stovetop to oven/broiler at any heat. If you don't have experience with cast iron it's better to go in thinking low-stick than no-stick. Also, err on the side of lower stovetop temperatures than you might normally use.

And even if you manage to strip or burn off some of the coating, as long as you don't stick it in the dishwasher it's basically bomb proof and can be salvaged no matter what you do to it (hell, even the people blaming the pan for getting rust spots after leaving it soaking could easily scrub down, re-season, and save their pans). Also, hey, compared to what you find on most cheaper modern stuff the brand marking on the back is cool.

12 skillet is just over a pound lighter than Lodge. When it comes to the weight of these, I appreciate that it is lighter weight.

Victoria's have a smoother, more even finish than Lodge. This is smooth for cast iron but all cast iron is still somewhat rough.

In regards to seasoning, cast iron is pre-seasoned so it doesn't rust from factory to customer. It still needs to be seasoned when it arrives regardless of brand. If you are used to cooking with cast iron, they season with use but most will season with a few coats in their oven. I personally use grapeseed oil. Start with a cold oven, wipe on oil, remove excess oil with a dry cloth or paper towel. Heat oven to slightly above the smoke point of your chosen oil. Bake for 1 hr, turn oven off and leave the pan in until it has cooled. Repeat 2 more times.

If your food is sticking, you are cooking on too high of a temperature. Pre-heat cast iron and cook on a low, never above medium heat. If food sticks, pour hot water in it immediately, if you let it sit, it will bake in and you will be scrubbing and will re-season often. If nothing sticks, once it's cool, wipe it out, rinse with hot water.

After every wash, dry completely, wipe oil all over, wipe excess oil off with dry towel.

My husband is learning how to cook, where I can make a perfect egg or pancake with nothing more than a pat of butter, he can use 1/4 of oil and his food sticks. Then of course he leaves the pan so the food just bakes right in. It isn't the pan, it isn't the seasoning, it's the temp he cooks at.

With a properly seasoned pan, you can simply use the stove top method for touch up. It's not a big deal, simply a learning curve for some.