Lancaster Cast Iron Named Epicurious’ Best Cast-Iron Skillet

There are some moments in a company’s history that make you stop for a minute.

Being named the best cast-iron skillet by Epicurious was one of those moments for us.

We make cookware every day. We talk about the details all the time, the weight of a skillet, how it feels when you pick it up, how quickly it heats, how smoothly food moves across the cooking surface.

So when a publication like Epicurious puts a skillet through extensive testing and Lancaster comes out on top, it means a lot.

A Lot of Skillets. A Lot of Testing.

For its review, Epicurious tested 23 cast-iron skillets from a range of brands and price points.

That included everything from traditional, familiar cast iron to newer premium skillets designed to rethink some of the things people have simply accepted about cast iron for years.

The testing covered the things that actually matter when you're cooking:

How comfortable the skillet is to hold
How evenly it heats
How it performs with everyday cooking
How the cooking surface feels
How easy it is to maneuver
How well it handles foods like eggs and potatoes
And even how practical the pour spouts and handle design are

After putting all of those skillets through the same kind of side-by-side testing, Epicurious named the Lancaster Cast Iron No. 8 its favorite.

Why Lancaster Stood Out

One of the biggest things Epicurious noticed was the weight.

The Lancaster No. 8 weighs around 4 pounds, making it significantly lighter than many traditional 10-inch cast iron skillets.

That might not sound like a huge difference on paper. But when you're moving a skillet from the stovetop to the oven, pouring out a sauce, flipping food, or simply cooking with one hand, you notice it immediately.

We wanted to make a skillet that gave you all the things people love about cast iron, the heat retention, the durability, the ability to go from stovetop to oven and beyond, without making everyday cooking harder than it needs to be.

The smooth cooking surface was another important part of the review. A smooth surface changes the way a skillet feels when you cook with it. Eggs slide more easily. Spatulas move more naturally. And the pan becomes something you reach for because you enjoy using it.

That's really what we hoped to create.

A skillet you actually want to use.

The Best Part Is Where It’s Made

For us, this recognition is especially meaningful because Lancaster Cast Iron is made in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

We are a small American company making cookware here in the United States. Every skillet represents a lot of work from a lot of people, from the people involved in the manufacturing process to the team that carefully prepares, inspects, packs, and ships each piece.

So when a publication like Epicurious tests 23 different skillets and chooses Lancaster as its favorite, we don't see it as just a product award.

We see it as recognition of the people behind the skillet.

A Skillet Built for Everyday Cooking

Cast iron has always been built to last.

That part hasn't changed.

What we wanted to change was the experience of using it.

A skillet can be incredibly durable and still be comfortable to hold. It can retain heat and still respond quickly when you adjust the temperature. It can be built to last for generations and still feel at home in a modern kitchen.

That balance is what we've been working toward from the beginning.

Thank You

We are honored to be named the best cast-iron skillet by Epicurious.

But we're even more grateful to the people who actually use our skillets.

The people making breakfast before work. The people baking cornbread for Sunday dinner. The people cooking over a campfire, making pizza, frying chicken, searing steaks, or simply using the same skillet several times a week because it has become part of their routine.

That is what this cookware is for.

Thank you to the team at Epicurious for putting Lancaster through its testing and recognizing the work that goes into making our skillets.

And thank you to everyone who has brought a Lancaster skillet into their kitchen.

We’re proud of what we make here in Lancaster County, and we’re even prouder to know that our skillets are being used in kitchens all over the country.

Read the full Epicurious review to see how Lancaster compared with the other cast-iron skillets.