You mean they aren't supposed to be tough? My mother fried pork chops until they were shoe leather. (I hated them.) My DH asked me why we never had pork chops and that was why. About 20 years ago (we have been married 44 years in June) I found the thick sliced pork chops and have been cooking them since. Sometimes they are breaded and fried, sometimes they are put in the Showtime Rotisserie, and sometimes they are baked. I season them with a breading and bake in accordance with the weight. To me it is the thickness that allows them to cook and retain some tenderness and moisture.

I brush on Dijon mustard then roll in fine bread crumbs. I make my own bread crumbs so I can get them to look almost them same texture of cornmeal. Set the burner to medium heat, place the pork chops in the pan with a little olive oil. Cover and cook about 7 minutes total or until no pink juices flow out. (for 1" thick chops)

Marinate in Italian salad dressing a while, then grill or toss in seasoned bread crumbs and bake.

Totally agree that pork chops are way too lean now for our old methods of cooking pork. I basically treat them like a boneless skinless chicken breast. Season and a quick saute in olive oil and butter. I season with the Pork Chop seasoning from Penzeys. I use the 1/2 inch or so thick boneless loin chops and they cook in about 5 minutes or so, just until no pink is in middle. I have also brined them and had good results.

Pork becomes tough when it is overcooked.

Before I got the Instant Pot which makes great pork chops I used to use the George Foreman grill - season as desired and cook just until done. They were very good. With that grill have to remember both sides are cooked at the same time so short cooking time. I do think pork is very lean these days and I too treat them like a boneless skinless chicken breast. And some of them are different from each other too.

Pork no longer has to be cooked well done because it no longer carries Trichinosis, which was why you used to have to cook it to shoe leather. It's been eradicated in commercial pork. One of the problems in that is that pork has gotten leaner, making it not as moist. If it is overcooked, it will definitely be tough. A good temp for pork is 160, with a 3 minute covered rest (for a chop, 10 minutes for a roast) after taking it off of the heat.

Watson

I coat mine in breadcrumbs, cook for about 5 mins either side till golden, place in a tray cover with foil cook for about 15 mins at 400 in oven remove foil finish off 5 mins in over, juice moist and tender

Pork chops are too lean now,no fat for flavor either. I try and buy chops that have some fat. I cook them only about ten minutes each side, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I have thisproblem with anything pork. Exception to ham steak.