How hot do charcoal grills get?
Charcoal can get to 700 degrees F  but in normal use you're more likely to be in the 500F range.  In order to get to the higher end of charcoal's abilities there are a couple things you can do:


Use natural lump charcoal, not briquettes.
Lower the grill grate to within 1" of the hot coals
If 1&amp;2 don't get you enough heat, consider using the Alton Brown chimney approach (Setup starts around the 8 minute mark)